Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,531 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,508 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.24% of Lear worth $15,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Lear in the first quarter worth $32,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lear by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the first quarter valued at about $62,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lear from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.56.

Lear Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $2.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.77. The stock had a trading volume of 475,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,102. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $147.57.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Lear 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.