Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Rod Lache Acquires 2,178 Shares

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lear Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of LEA traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $96.32. The company had a trading volume of 647,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,105. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $95.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.97. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $86.28 and a 52-week high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

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Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,700,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 7.3% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $842,054,000 after acquiring an additional 526,763 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Lear by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $209,531,000 after acquiring an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Lear by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Lear by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LEA. Barclays lowered their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.36.

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.