Lear Corporation $LEA Shares Sold by ARGA Investment Management LP

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management LP reduced its stake in Lear Corporation by 7.6%, selling 49,566 shares, which now accounts for 1.6% of its holdings, valued at approximately $57.3 million.
• Institutional ownership in Lear Corporation is high, with institutional investors and hedge funds collectively holding 97.04% of the company's stock, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Lear Corporation reported earnings of $3.47 per share, surpassing expectations, along with a revenue of $6.03 billion for the previous quarter, representing a growth of 0.3% year over year.

ARGA Investment Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 603,754 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 49,566 shares during the quarter. Lear makes up about 1.6% of ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. ARGA Investment Management LP owned 1.13% of Lear worth $57,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LEA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lear by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,657,389 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $587,315,000 after acquiring an additional 165,494 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lear by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,477 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $232,145,000 after purchasing an additional 17,250 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Lear by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,358,330 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $208,052,000 after purchasing an additional 145,751 shares during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its stake in Lear by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,060,216 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $93,532,000 after buying an additional 3,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Lear by 105.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 710,962 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $62,721,000 after buying an additional 365,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Up 0.7%

Lear stock opened at $100.77 on Friday. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $113.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock's fifty day moving average is $104.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.32.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.24. Lear had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 2.05%.The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.47, for a total value of $492,350.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 20,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,993,426.68. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LEA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $104.00 price objective on Lear in a report on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lear from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Lear from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.00.

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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