Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 1,262 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 85,643 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,262 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Lear were worth $12,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted 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 period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Lear by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lear by 4.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 4.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:LEA traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,815. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.87 and a 200-day moving average of $135.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 31.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 Monday, February 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal 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 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 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. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

About Lear

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.