HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes $339,000 Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lear by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Lear by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 755 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 14,584 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Lear by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 41,432 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,851,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA opened at $114.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.01. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $114.01 and a 52-week high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.51.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lear 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.