Arnhold LLC Lowers Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Arnhold LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 122,675 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Lear makes up approximately 1.9% of Arnhold LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Arnhold LLC owned 0.21% of Lear worth $17,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,467,000. Auxano Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $474,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,520,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $487,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock traded down $11.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.92. 2,140,875 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,762. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $117.79 and a 12-month high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.84.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s payout ratio is 31.82%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lear 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.