Greg C. Smith Sells 2,392 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stock

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $125.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $121.38 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90. The company has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.42.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lear by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,237,016 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $174,382,000 after buying an additional 149,958 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Lear by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 107,582 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $15,192,000 after purchasing an additional 49,070 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,356,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,316,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $138,595,000 after buying an additional 391,949 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lear

Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.