Auxano Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,354 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Lear by 131.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Lear by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 622 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark raised their price objective on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Lear Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of Lear stock traded down $11.36 on Tuesday, reaching $125.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,140,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,067. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $138.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.84. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Lear’s payout ratio is 31.82%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% 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.