DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Trims Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,001 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 10,760 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.09% of Lear worth $5,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,633 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,709 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 75,147 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,583,000 after buying an additional 13,909 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Lear by 936.0% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lear by 757.1% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 207,935 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 183,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the second quarter worth about $1,175,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $107.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.65. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $101.67 and a 12 month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s payout ratio is 33.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lear from $132.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.40.

About Lear

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.