Ethic Inc. Sells 4,983 Shares of Lear Corporation $LEA

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 51.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 4,983 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Lear were worth $469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Lear by 75.6% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $171,086,000 after buying an additional 775,476 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 78.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after acquiring an additional 558,538 shares during the period. Oldfield Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 612,218 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lear in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,468,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Lear by 5.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 460,130 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,693,000 after acquiring an additional 23,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lear from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lear from $136.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Lear from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $104.00 target price on Lear in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.80.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.15 and its 200-day moving average is $105.12. Lear Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.85 and a 1-year high of $121.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. Lear had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $590,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,383.48. This represents a 24.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.