Lear (NYSE:LEA) SVP Alicia Davis Sells 6,630 Shares

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) SVP Alicia Davis sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.98, for a total value of $881,657.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,076.56. This trade represents a 39.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE LEA traded down $1.89 on Monday, hitting $132.86. The stock had a trading volume of 373,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,484. Lear Corporation has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $142.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.10 and a 200-day moving average of $111.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore lifted their target price on Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.27.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lear by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,835,802 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $324,990,000 after purchasing an additional 51,692 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Lear by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,830,466 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $212,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $157,891,000 after purchasing an additional 299,841 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Lear by 46,707.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $109,054,000 after buying an additional 949,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Lear by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 791,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $90,682,000 after purchasing an additional 57,206 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.