Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 9,786 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,778 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,786 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Lear worth $6,599,000 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 LEA. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Lear in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of LEA opened at $112.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $101.67 and a 12-month high of $147.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.67.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.20.

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.