ARGA Investment Management LP Has $50.20 Million Stock Position in Lear Corporation $LEA

ARGA Investment Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,922 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 104,832 shares during the quarter. Lear makes up approximately 1.3% of ARGA Investment Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. ARGA Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.94% of Lear worth $50,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $171,086,000 after acquiring an additional 775,476 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Lear by 78.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after purchasing an additional 558,538 shares during the period. Oldfield Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 0.4% in the second quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 612,218 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 3.8% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 570,048 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $57,353,000 after purchasing an additional 20,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lear in the second quarter valued at about $48,468,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,383.48. The trade was a 24.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEA. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lear from $107.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lear from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.20.

Lear Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of LEA opened at $119.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $127.36. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. Lear had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 1.92%.The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Lear’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 37.65%.

Lear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks argues Lear (LEA) is positioned to beat upcoming earnings again based on its strong earnings-surprise history and the presence of the “two key ingredients” Zacks uses to forecast beats — this is a direct, potentially bullish signal for LEA ahead of results. Why Lear (LEA) Could Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-dated investment-grade corporate bond ETF coverage (VCLT) — macro fixed-income flows can affect broader market risk appetite, but this ETF piece is not specific to Lear’s business or fundamentals. VCLT: Learn About This Long Dated Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: NIIT USA to inject up to $300k into Brazilian subsidiary — small corporate funding news for an education company; not material to Lear. NIIT USA to Inject Up To USD 300,000 Into Brazil Subsidiary For Growth And Working Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Kevin O’Leary calls many altcoins “poo-poo coins” while favoring bitcoin/ether — influential investor commentary can move risk sentiment in pockets of the market, but it’s peripheral to LEA’s auto-supply fundamentals. Kevin O’Leary — aka ‘Mr. Wonderful’ from ‘Shark Tank’ — explains why he calls altcoins ‘poo-poo coins’
• Neutral Sentiment: Hevi launches AI-powered contract-training module for heavy industries — product/tech news for training software; unlikely to impact Lear’s auto seating/E-systems revenue. Hevi Launches AI-Powered Contract Training
• Neutral Sentiment: Michelle Obama clarification on “go high” motto — cultural/political commentary with no material relevance to Lear. Michelle Obama clarifies her famous ‘go high’ motto
• Neutral Sentiment: Kevin O’Leary on bitcoin regulation and electricity value — market commentary on crypto/regulation that doesn’t directly affect auto supplier fundamentals. Kevin O’Leary Says Until Bitcoin Hits This Level And Gets ‘Fully Regulated,’ Owning Electricity Will Be More ‘Valuable’ Than BTC Itself
• Neutral Sentiment: Ryanair CEO credits public feud with Elon Musk for a short-term bookings bump — airline-specific PR impact; unrelated to Lear. Ryanair Boss Thanks Elon Musk for Boosting Bookings with Public Feud
• Neutral Sentiment: Kevin O’Leary bullish on Canadian dollar/energy after Trump’s Davos comments — macro/currency trade idea; only indirectly relevant to multinational suppliers like Lear. Kevin O’Leary Sees US-Canada Negotiation After Trump’s Davos Speech

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.