Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 63.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,393 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 787,623 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.79% of Lear worth $65,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,611,000. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,847,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 20,129 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 7,242 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in Lear by 307.9% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,714 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Lear by 83.9% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 107,582 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $15,192,000 after purchasing an additional 49,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $114.16. The stock had a trading volume of 778,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,227. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $112.26 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.98.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 14.21 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lear from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lear news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.