Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,035 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lear were worth $3,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LEA. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 47.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,064,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $437,259,000 after purchasing an additional 993,216 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,288,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,478,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lear by 236.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $77,526,000 after acquiring an additional 405,875 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Lear by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 600,643 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $74,492,000 after acquiring an additional 344,005 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $136.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $117.79 and a 12 month high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. Lear’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.44.

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.