Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by 44 Wealth Management LLC

44 Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,255 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 9.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter worth $1,946,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 7.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,748,000 after purchasing an additional 9,774 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 39.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,221 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $96.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $86.28 and a 52-week high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LEA. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Lear Profile

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.