Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,451 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,314 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.15% of Lear worth $12,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Lear during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 90.8% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the second quarter valued at about $57,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Lear by 131.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 583 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $136.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.20 and its 200 day moving average is $135.86. 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 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 14.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LEA. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark lifted their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.