Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 2,977 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,823 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Lear were worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth $79,611,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 236.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $77,526,000 after purchasing an additional 405,875 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $138,595,000 after acquiring an additional 391,949 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,896,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $254,560,000 after acquiring an additional 287,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 643.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 243,007 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,612,000 after acquiring an additional 210,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $125.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $121.38 and a 52-week high of $157.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.42.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LEA shares. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.44.

Lear Company 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.