Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Bought by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,344 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $2,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Lear by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,305 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,129,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Lear by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 63,026 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,791,000 after buying an additional 4,552 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 196.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 9,135 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 6,051 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 63,062 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,136,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lear from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.22.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lear Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded down $4.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.19. 993,805 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 739,546. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.26 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.59%.

About Lear

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.