Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 78.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,817 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 36,263 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Lear were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Lear by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,216 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Lear by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,913,000 after purchasing an additional 77,691 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Lear by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Lear by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $64,110,000 after buying an additional 99,072 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $77.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 730,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,057. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $138.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day moving average is $92.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Lear 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.