Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Purchases $199,940.40 in Stock

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $98.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $86.28 and a 52 week 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, topping 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, analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth about $90,700,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 7.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $842,054,000 after purchasing an additional 526,763 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Lear by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $209,531,000 after purchasing an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lear by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

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.