44 Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

44 Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,255 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Lear in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 240.4% in the third 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 grew its holdings in Lear by 71.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lear by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays decreased 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.00.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $96.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $86.28 and a twelve month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

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.