Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Lear Corporation $LEA

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,276 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 22,456 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Lear were worth $11,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 408 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 13,644 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 16,834 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 13,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,047.50. The trade was a 27.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total value of $330,263.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,687.82. This trade represents a 49.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,880 shares of company stock valued at $1,708,003. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 price target on Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $126.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.08.

Key Headlines Impacting Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Lear’s CFO sold 5,000 shares at $147.50 on June 2, reducing his ownership and potentially pressuring sentiment around the stock. SEC filing for June 2 insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: He also sold 4,500 shares at $141.14 on June 1, adding to concerns that management may see limited near-term upside after the recent run-up. SEC filing for June 1 insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation-focused article highlighted Lear’s pullback and suggested investors are reassessing the stock’s pricing after its strong year-to-date move. Yahoo Finance article on Lear valuation

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $145.11 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.32. The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Lear Corporation has a 1 year low of $86.14 and a 1 year high of $150.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.Lear’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Lear’s 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.