Horizon Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in Lear Corporation $LEA

Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,431 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Lear by 5,205.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 7,131 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Lear during the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lear during the first quarter valued at approximately $256,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 37.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Lear by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, VP Marianne Vidershain sold 1,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $214,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,370. This represents a 46.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.51, for a total transaction of $1,345,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,891.91. This trade represents a 30.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,264 shares of company stock worth $3,400,687 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LEA shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays 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 Tuesday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $126.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.38.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $135.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $86.14 and a one year high of $142.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.74.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 30.80%.

About Lear

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.