Jason Cardew Sells 10,000 Shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) CFO Jason Cardew sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.51, for a total transaction of $1,345,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,891.91. This represents a 30.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA traded down $1.89 during trading on Monday, reaching $132.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 373,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,484. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.64. Lear Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.85 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released 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 analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 37.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays set a $140.00 target price on Lear in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Lear from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.27.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 134.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 14,904 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at $2,295,000. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter valued at $3,268,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Lear by 2,060.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 104,720 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,009,000 after purchasing an additional 99,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Lear by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 570,048 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $57,353,000 after purchasing an additional 20,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Company Profile

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.