Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Lear Corporation $LEA

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 72.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,722 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 35,845 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEA. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 127.0% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Lear by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 36,489 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after buying an additional 4,983 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,589 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear by 3,542.5% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,463,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lear

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

Lear Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $116.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $119.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. Lear had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 1.92%.The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lear from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Lear from $136.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $104.00 price target on Lear in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.80.

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.