First Trust Advisors LP Sells 113,755 Shares of Lear Corporation $LEA

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 22.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,468 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 113,755 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.78% of Lear worth $47,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Lear by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 309 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 942.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say Lear Corporation (LEA) has the ingredients for a potential earnings beat in its upcoming quarterly report, which could support the stock if results and guidance come in better than expected. Article: Lear (LEA) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: A separate article highlights Lear Corporation (LEA) as a top value stock for the long term, which may be helping investor sentiment amid its relatively low valuation metrics versus earnings growth expectations. Article: Why Lear (LEA) is a top value stock for the long term
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other items in the feed were unrelated to Lear Corporation or did not include company-specific news, so they are unlikely to be a direct driver of LEA trading today.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lear from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.62.

Lear Stock Up 0.0%

LEA stock opened at $143.65 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.11 and a 200-day moving average of $130.47. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $91.67 and a fifty-two week high of $150.33. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 14.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lear’s payout ratio is 30.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.34, for a total transaction of $26,854.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,875.22. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total value of $330,263.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,687.82. This represents a 49.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,026 shares of company stock valued at $8,498,248. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.