Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Acquired by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Lear were worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LEA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Lear by 970.4% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,373,000 after buying an additional 490,324 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in 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 during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in Lear by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,796,000 after buying an additional 380,771 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Lear by 196.7% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 319,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,239,000 after buying an additional 211,574 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the company’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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock opened at $115.00 on Thursday. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $112.55 and a 52 week high of $157.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.47.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.63.

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.