Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Bought by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,996 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 622 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of Lear 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 in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

LEA opened at $131.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.87.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.