Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 642,709 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 13,860 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 1.10% of Lear worth $90,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lear by 236.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $77,526,000 after purchasing an additional 405,875 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Lear by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,896,871 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $254,560,000 after acquiring an additional 287,483 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lear by 643.7% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 243,007 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $32,612,000 after purchasing an additional 210,333 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Lear by 20.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,087,058 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $146,057,000 after purchasing an additional 182,241 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the third quarter worth $17,358,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $127.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 568,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,659. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.55. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $117.79 and a 52-week high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.33.

Insider Transactions at Lear

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

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.