Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Holdings in Lear Corporation $LEA

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Lear Corporation during the first quarter, buying 14,700 shares valued at about $1.78 million.
• Several analysts have recently raised price targets on Lear, with TD Cowen upgrading the stock to buy; however, the overall consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $143.38.
• Lear reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $3.87 EPS beating estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, implying a 2.3% yield.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Lear by 5,205.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,268 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Lear in the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Lear in the 1st quarter worth $256,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Lear by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lear from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lear from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total transaction of $737,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,953,047.50. This trade represents a 27.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.34, for a total transaction of $26,854.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $237,875.22. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,026 shares of company stock worth $8,498,248 in the last quarter. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear said the StoneShield acquisition should strengthen its automation capabilities, which could support efficiency, manufacturing flexibility, and longer-term margin improvement. Lear expands automation capabilities with StoneShield acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated articles in the feed covered learning software, AI in education, and crypto topics, with no direct impact on Lear’s core auto parts business.

Lear Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of LEA opened at $133.83 on Wednesday. Lear Corporation has a 1 year low of $91.67 and a 1 year high of $150.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.36. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. Lear's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 14.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Lear's payout ratio is currently 30.80%.

About Lear

Lear Corporation NYSE: LEA is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.

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