Lear Corporation $LEA Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Lear Corporation by 17.9%, now holding 741,573 shares valued at approximately $65.4 million.
• Lear Corporation posted earnings per share of $3.47 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and achieving a 2.05% net margin.
• The company announced a $0.77 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 2.8%, to be paid on September 23rd.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 741,573 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 162,150 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.39% of Lear worth $65,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LEA. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 2.3% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Lear by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,709 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Lear by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 10,735 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Lear by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,573 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock opened at $110.49 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $103.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.34. Lear Corporation has a 1 year low of $73.85 and a 1 year high of $115.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's payout ratio is currently 35.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LEA shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lear from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total transaction of $483,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at $3,747,805.33. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.47, for a total transaction of $492,350.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,993,426.68. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,086,425. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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