Lear Corporation $LEA Stock Position Boosted by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,740 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.20% of Lear worth $11,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $292,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lear by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 140,545 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,106,000 after purchasing an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Lear by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 589,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $67,586,000 after purchasing an additional 19,705 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,285 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results were solid, with Lear beating earnings estimates and posting higher revenue versus last year, supporting the case for continued profitability. MarketBeat LEA summary
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks piece highlighted Lear as a long-term growth name, which may help keep valuation-focused investors engaged. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: With no major new company-specific announcement in the latest batch of articles, LEA’s move appears driven more by sentiment and profit-taking than by a new operational development.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total transaction of $330,263.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total value of $737,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,047.50. This trade represents a 27.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,880 shares of company stock valued at $1,708,003. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LEA shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lear from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $130.00 target price on shares of Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lear from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten 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 $143.08.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA stock opened at $142.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.44. Lear Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.29 and a 52 week high of $150.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.23. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 30.80%.

Lear Profile

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.