Insider Selling: Lear (NYSE:LEA) Director Sells $26,854.60 in Stock

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Director Conrad Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,875.22. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lear Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE LEA opened at $145.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.16. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.23. Lear Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.29 and a 12 month high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.80%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $356,380,000 after acquiring an additional 107,678 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,830,466 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $212,938,000 after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $157,891,000 after acquiring an additional 299,841 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 46,707.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $109,054,000 after acquiring an additional 949,569 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 791,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $90,682,000 after acquiring an additional 57,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised 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. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $126.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.08.

Lear News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.87 per share versus the $3.51 consensus, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year. That stronger-than-expected operating performance likely continues to support investor confidence in the auto supplier’s outlook. Lear earnings and stock data
• Positive Sentiment: The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, or $3.08 annualized, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock. Lear dividend information
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares for about $26,855. The sale is relatively small and looks more routine than like a meaningful shift in insider sentiment. SEC insider filing

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.