Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Boosts Stock Position in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Lear Corporation by 160.7% during the first quarter, owning 11,855 shares valued at $1,046,000.
• Both CFO and CEO of Lear Corporation sold 5,000 shares each, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership positions.
• Analysts revised their ratings and price targets for Lear, with most maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.00.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 160.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,855 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Lear were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $587,315,000 after buying an additional 165,494 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lear by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 6.6% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 145,751 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Lear by 26.3% in the 4th 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, 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 transaction of $483,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,747,805.33. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total transaction of $110,224.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 84 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,800.24. This trade represents a 93.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,187 shares of company stock valued at $1,086,425 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Lear Trading Down 0.1%

LEA traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $95.91. 533,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 699,245. Lear Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.85 and a twelve month high of $119.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.42 and its 200-day 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. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.89 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays boosted their price target on Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.