Lear (NYSE:LEA) PT Lowered to $150.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LEA. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $153.56.

Lear Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $112.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lear has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $147.57.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lear will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 33.59%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lear news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lear by 11,753.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,016,778 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $116,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,200 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,187,890 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $820,929,000 after buying an additional 946,109 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter worth $79,611,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lear by 36.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $213,726,000 after buying an additional 504,091 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Lear by 970.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,373,000 after acquiring an additional 490,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Company 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.