Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 5,646 Shares of Lear Corporation $LEA

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 93.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 5,646 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 676 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 17,404 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Lear by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 408 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.34, for a total value of $26,854.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,875.22. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total value of $330,263.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,687.82. This trade represents a 49.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,026 shares of company stock valued at $8,498,248 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lear from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Lear from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.62.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $142.79 on Wednesday. Lear Corporation has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $150.33. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 14.81 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 30.80%.

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.