Tidal Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Lear Corporation $LEA

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,783 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,539,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Lear by 5,987.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 23,436 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,838,000 after acquiring an additional 23,051 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Lear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,029,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,997,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $82,016,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Scott sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.37, for a total transaction of $6,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 49,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,936.93. The trade was a 50.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total transaction of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 37 shares in the company, valued at $4,489.95. The trade was a 97.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price objective on Lear in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.33.

Lear Trading Down 2.1%

LEA stock opened at $126.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.51. Lear Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.04 and a 52 week high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 2.35%.The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 14.86 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.70%.

Lear News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear Investment Management appointed Peter Grauer, former Bloomberg chairman and CEO, to lead its new advisory board. The appointment could strengthen the division’s investment expertise and credibility, although no immediate financial impact or changes to Lear’s auto-parts operations were announced. Lear Investment Management Names Peter Grauer, Former Bloomberg Chairman and CEO, to Head Its New Advisory Board
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its neutral rating on Lear. The firm’s new $150 price target remains above the stock’s recent $126.10 level, implying potential upside, but the reduction from $175 signals more cautious expectations regarding Lear’s near-term valuation or operating outlook. JPMorgan Reaffirms Neutral Rating and Lowers Lear Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The analyst target cut is the clearest market-related negative catalyst in the available news. Despite Lear’s recent earnings beat—$4.28 in quarterly EPS versus a $3.98 consensus estimate—and 3% year-over-year revenue growth, investors may be focused on the more conservative valuation outlook.

Lear Profile

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology company that designs and manufactures systems and components used in passenger vehicles. Its business is organized primarily around two areas: seating and E-Systems. Lear supplies complete vehicle seating systems, including seats, structures, mechanisms, foam, covers and related components, as well as electrical distribution systems and other technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

The company’s E-Systems offerings include low- and high-voltage wiring systems, connection systems, battery and power-management solutions, electronic control modules, displays and software-enabled technologies.