Versor Investments LP Invests $372,000 in Lear Corporation $LEA

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 2.0% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in Lear by 1.1% in the third quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 16,834 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Lear by 1.2% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,820 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Lear by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 24,918 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,383.48. The trade was a 24.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear’s Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.77 per share — a direct shareholder return that signals management confidence in near-term cash flow. At the current quote (~$136.78) that works out to roughly a 2.3% annualized yield. Lear Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Lear reported a February quarterly beat (EPS $3.41 vs. $2.67 est.; revenue $5.99B vs. $5.78B), which helps explain the board’s willingness to pay a cash dividend — but shareholders should watch upcoming guidance and free-cash-flow trends for sustainability. (No new guidance was announced in the dividend release.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items in the feed (theater listings, opinion pieces about options, unrelated company news) are not material to LEA’s near-term stock performance and unlikely to move the share price.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays set a $140.00 price target on Lear in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lear from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.10.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $136.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.30. Lear Corporation has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month high of $142.84.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued 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. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

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

About Lear

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.