Leuthold Group LLC Has $3.38 Million Stock Position in Lear Corporation $LEA

Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 1,143.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,576 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Lear by 75.6% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $171,086,000 after buying an additional 775,476 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lear by 78.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $120,577,000 after acquiring an additional 558,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,468,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Lear during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,656,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Lear in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,069,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lear from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Lear from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lear from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,383.48. This represents a 24.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:LEA opened at $138.83 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.50. Lear Corporation has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $142.84. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

Lear Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.