Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 20,233 Lear Corporation $LEA

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,233 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,450,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.34, for a total value of $26,854.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,683 shares in the company, valued at $237,875.22. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of the 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. This represents a 50.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,026 shares of company stock worth $8,498,248 in the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lear Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of LEA opened at $131.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.43. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $91.67 and a one 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its 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. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 14.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 30.80%.

Key Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Lear is a top-ranked value stock and discusses whether it could be a buy, reinforcing the company’s appeal to value investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks piece compares Lear with Ferrari on valuation, which keeps attention on LEA as a relatively attractive automotive stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also notes that Lear has lagged broader auto-tires-trucks peers this year, which can sometimes draw contrarian interest if investors expect a rebound. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Other linked stories in the feed focus on unrelated education, tax, crypto, and marketing topics and are unlikely to materially affect Lear’s stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The recent comparison article suggests Lear has trailed its sector year to date, which may reflect lingering investor caution around the stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on LEA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lear from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.38.

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.