Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,655 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 63,984 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Lear worth $8,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in Lear during the fourth quarter valued at $90,700,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Lear by 29.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $614,782,000 after buying an additional 447,835 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $107,313,000 after acquiring an additional 356,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,881,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $84.57 on Monday. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $138.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $88.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered shares of Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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