Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Price Down 1.9%

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) traded down 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $140.56 and last traded at $141.60. 113,592 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 535,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.89.

Lear Trading Up 2.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.14 and a 200 day moving average of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.53.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 14.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.82%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 2,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $402,669.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,533.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 2,977 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total transaction of $402,669.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,533.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,379 shares of company stock valued at $2,205,121 over the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 154.7% in the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 191 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lear during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lear by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the second quarter worth $57,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.