Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,100 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lear by 240.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Lear during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 71.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock opened at $96.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $86.28 and a 12-month high of $147.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 13.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LEA. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.00.

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.