Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 58,675 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.27% of Lear worth $13,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the third quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Lear during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LEA shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Lear Trading Down 1.6 %

LEA stock opened at $94.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. Lear Co. has a one year low of $86.28 and a one year high of $147.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.02.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. As a group, analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.45%.

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.