Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stake in Lear Corporation $LEA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107,678 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Lear worth $356,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $22,539,000. Oldfield Partners LLP grew its stake in Lear by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 644,286 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Lear by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 17,264 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 154.6% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,720 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after acquiring an additional 15,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in Lear by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 47,513 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,445,000 after acquiring an additional 13,937 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LEA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $130.00 price target on shares of Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lear from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.62.

Insider Activity

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.37, for a total value of $6,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,739,936.93. The trade was a 50.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total value of $737,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,047.50. This trade represents a 27.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 62,026 shares of company stock worth $8,498,248 in the last three months. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lear Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $142.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $138.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.94. Lear Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.67 and a twelve month high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 14.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.80%.

Lear Profile

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.