Lear Corporation $LEA Holdings Lessened by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,540,816 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 97,597 shares during the period. Lear accounts for approximately 2.3% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 13.26% of Lear worth $772,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,029,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of Lear by 145.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 126,588 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,970,000 after purchasing an additional 75,043 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,997,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,988,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Lear by 5,987.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 23,436 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after buying an additional 23,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $118.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.28. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $150.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 2.46%. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 15.01 EPS for the current year.

Lear declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 24th that allows the company to buy back $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to buy up to 25.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 26.90%.

Trending Headlines about Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear shares moved above their 50-day moving average after an analyst downgrade, a potentially supportive technical signal. Article: Lear Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Jason Cardew sold 5,000 shares for about $589,000 and retained 8,241 shares. The filing does not give a reason for the sale, so it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its expectations for Lear, citing a near-term China overhang. Concern about demand in that market could weigh on the company’s outlook. Article: Lear Faces Near Term China Overhang, RBC Says

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.75, for a total value of $588,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $970,377.75. This represents a 37.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Lear from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.25.

About Lear

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology company that designs and manufactures products used in passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. Its operations are organized primarily around two areas: seating and e-systems. Lear supplies complete vehicle seating systems, including seats, structures, mechanisms, foam, covers and related components, as well as electrical distribution systems and other technologies that support vehicle power management and connectivity.

The company serves automotive manufacturers and their vehicle programs in major markets across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions.