Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 7,227 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,689 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 7,227 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Lear worth $4,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,611,000. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Lear during the first quarter worth $5,847,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in Lear by 56.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in Lear by 307.9% in 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 buying an additional 9,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $1,984,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.78. 938,285 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,867. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $114.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $101.67 and a 52 week high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Lear's payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LEA. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lear from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $132.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.40.

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.