Neuberger Berman Group LLC Makes New Investment in Lear Corporation $LEA

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC has acquired 125,667 shares in Lear Corporation, valued at approximately $11.1 million, representing a 0.24% ownership stake as of the latest reporting period.
• Several institutional investors, including Oldfield Partners LLP and Millennium Management LLC, have also made significant investments in Lear, indicating strong interest in the stock, which is 97.04% owned by these funds.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $113, Lear recently reported earnings of $3.47 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 0.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 125,667 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $11,127,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.24% of Lear as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Oldfield Partners LLP acquired a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,799,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Lear by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $107,313,000 after buying an additional 356,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $247,566,000 after purchasing an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Lear by 394.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 244,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $23,133,000 after buying an additional 194,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Lear by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 903,723 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $85,583,000 after purchasing an additional 187,935 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock traded up $0.6450 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.1850. The company had a trading volume of 148,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,160. Lear Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $119.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's payout ratio is 35.94%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of Lear 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 directly owned 20,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,993,426.68. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at $3,747,805.33. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock valued at $1,086,425. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lear from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on Lear and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.00.

Lear Company 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.