Lear Corporation $LEA Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has increased its stake in Lear Corporation by 4.2%, owning approximately 371,181 shares worth $32.7 million, reflecting robust institutional interest in the company.
• CEO Raymond E. Scott and Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. have both sold shares recently, with Scott's sale resulting in an 11.43% decrease in his ownership.
• Shares of Lear Corporation have a current price target range established by analysts, with Barclays increasing it from $100 to $120 and an average consensus of $113.

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,181 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,027 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.69% of Lear worth $32,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Lear by 131.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Lear in the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 938 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 966 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total value of $483,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,747,805.33. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total value of $110,224.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 84 shares in the company, valued at $7,800.24. This represents a 93.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,086,425. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price target on shares of Lear and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $102.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.30. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $119.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $98.95 and its 200-day moving average is $93.19.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 2.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.94%.

About Lear

Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.

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