Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. cut its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Lear were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Lear by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Lear by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lear by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Lear by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $131.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $117.79 and a twelve month high of $157.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.87.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. Lear’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s payout ratio is 31.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LEA shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Benchmark upped their target price on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.