Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,346 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,039 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.24% of Lear worth $19,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Lear by 172.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,354 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,253,000 after purchasing an additional 18,591 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear in the first quarter worth $858,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Lear by 14.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Lear by 6.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 0.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 214,863 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,129,000 after buying an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on LEA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.63.

Lear Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LEA traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.35. 941,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 650,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $123.23 and its 200 day moving average is $132.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.55 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 14.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

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.