Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 58,120 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,012 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 58,120 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Lear were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Lear by 5.0% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Lear by 4.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lear by 4.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Lear by 4.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Lear by 21.0% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 622 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.44.

Lear Trading Down 1.3 %

LEA traded down $1.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $133.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 736,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,079. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $117.79 and a twelve month high of $157.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $138.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Lear's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.49 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% 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.