Towle & Co. Sells 31,692 Shares of Lear Corporation $LEA

Towle & Co. reduced its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 36.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 56,123 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 31,692 shares during the period. Lear makes up about 2.6% of Towle & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Towle & Co.’s holdings in Lear were worth $6,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lear by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $356,380,000 after purchasing an additional 107,678 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Lear by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,830,466 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $212,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 46,707.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $109,054,000 after purchasing an additional 949,569 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 791,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $90,682,000 after purchasing an additional 57,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lear by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 789,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $90,505,000 after buying an additional 200,617 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Lear from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Lear from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lear from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.62.

Lear Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $142.63 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.31. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.33. Lear Corporation has a 52-week low of $91.67 and a 52-week high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 14.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total transaction of $737,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,953,047.50. The trade was a 27.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.37, for a total transaction of $6,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 49,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,936.93. The trade was a 50.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,026 shares of company stock worth $8,498,248. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces argued that Lear is a strong value stock and may be undervalued versus peers, potentially drawing in bargain-focused investors. Why Lear (LEA) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks note compared Lear with Modine and suggested investors are evaluating LEA as the better value opportunity, which may bolster relative-strength sentiment. LEA or MOD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: An MSN repost also described Lear as a top value stock for the long term, reinforcing the broader valuation narrative around LEA. Why Lear (LEA) is a top value stock for the long term
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market articles about tech selling off, AI, and education-related topics do not appear directly tied to Lear’s fundamentals or near-term outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: No major new company-specific earnings, guidance, or deal announcements were included in the latest articles.

About Lear

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.