Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lear were worth $12,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the second quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lear by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Trading Up 1.6 %

Lear stock opened at $97.89 on Friday. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $147.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays cut Lear from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $140.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.25.

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.