Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Lear Corporation $LEA

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,697 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 325,662 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lear were worth $19,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Lear by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 309 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Lear by 942.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Lear by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 458 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.54.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, VP Marianne Vidershain sold 1,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $214,650.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,370. This trade represents a 46.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Lear (LEA) as a top-ranked growth stock, which may draw in growth-oriented investors and support the shares. Lear (LEA) is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles about saunas, red light therapy, crypto regulation, and other unrelated topics do not appear to affect Lear’s shares. The health benefits of saunas: backed by research and experts
• Neutral Sentiment: Lear’s latest reported results showed EPS ahead of expectations and revenue growth, helping reinforce the stock’s positive momentum, though this was from an earlier earnings release rather than a new catalyst today.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $139.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.33. Lear Corporation has a one year low of $86.14 and a one year high of $142.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.21.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.36. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.80%.

Lear Company Profile

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.