Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,867 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 31,646 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in Lear were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,700,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Lear by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $64,110,000 after buying an additional 99,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $84.57 on Monday. 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 capitalization 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $138.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $88.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.26.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Lear

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LEA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lowered Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Lear in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cowen lowered Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.91.

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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