abrdn plc Boosts Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,432 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,631 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Lear were worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 622 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $137.25. 949,380 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 536,432. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $138.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Lear's payout ratio is 31.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LEA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.44.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company'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 owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.