Lear (NYSE:LEA) PT Lowered to $165.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $175.00 to $165.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LEA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Citigroup cut their price target on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $160.33.

Lear Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $127.15 on Thursday. Lear has a 52-week low of $117.79 and a 52-week high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.07 and its 200-day moving average is $135.56.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lear will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s payout ratio is 33.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 970.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,373,000 after purchasing an additional 490,324 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 worth $77,526,000 after purchasing an additional 405,875 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Lear by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $138,595,000 after buying an additional 391,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position 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 last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lear Company 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.