Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 35,447 Lear Corporation $LEA

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 35,447 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,566,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LEA. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Lear by 134.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 14,904 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $157,891,000 after buying an additional 299,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at about $2,295,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lear by 2,060.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 104,720 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,009,000 after acquiring an additional 99,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new position in shares of Lear during the third quarter worth about $3,268,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, SVP Alicia J. Davis sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.98, for a total value of $881,657.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,076.56. This trade represents a 39.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Harry Albert Kemp sold 7,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.31, for a total transaction of $954,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,374,929.13. This trade represents a 28.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,220 shares of company stock valued at $3,986,427. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Lear Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $117.89 on Thursday. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $142.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.81. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.26.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.27.

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.