Mackenzie Financial Corp Makes New $7.10 Million Investment in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp has acquired a new stake in Lear Corporation, purchasing 80,515 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million, representing about 0.15% of the company.
• Recent insider transactions include CEO Raymond E. Scott and CFO Jason M. Cardew each selling 5,000 shares, resulting in a significant decrease in their respective ownership stakes.
• Analysts have given mixed reviews, with Bank of America raising its price target to $115 while Morgan Stanley lowered theirs to $115, reflecting varying confidence in Lear's stock performance.

Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 80,515 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $7,103,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.15% of Lear at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LEA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Lear by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Lear by 131.8% in the first 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 first quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Lear Stock Down 0.3%

Lear stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $92.79. The stock had a trading volume of 322,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,472. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $96.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.98. 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 $119.10.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at $3,747,805.33. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.47, for a total transaction of $492,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,086,425. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Lear Profile

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.