Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Acquires Shares of 3,155 Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,155 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LEA. Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth $2,004,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Lear by 89.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 7,176 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 3,385 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in Lear by 90.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 22,432 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 10,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $136.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $138.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.86. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.44.

Lear Company 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.