Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Acquires $199,940.40 in Stock

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lear Price Performance

LEA opened at $98.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $86.28 and a 1 year high of $147.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. As a group, analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.