Amundi Reduces Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Amundi decreased its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,423 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 5,420 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Lear were worth $6,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 30.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Lear by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Lear by 7.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 16,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 39.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,221 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $94.56 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $86.28 and a 12-month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

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.