Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $692,000 in Lear Corporation $LEA

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,876 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $590,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,383.48. This represents a 24.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lear Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $118.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.06. Lear Corporation has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month high of $127.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.20.

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.