Fmr LLC Sells 656,251 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Fmr LLC decreased its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,456,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 656,251 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 4.52% of Lear worth $268,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 70.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lear by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA opened at $97.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $101.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.53. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 32.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.25.

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.