Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Acquired by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,780 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Lear by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Lear by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $5,847,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Lear by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Lear by 196.7% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 319,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,239,000 after purchasing an additional 211,574 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Price Performance

LEA opened at $115.00 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.60 and a 200-day moving average of $132.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $112.55 and a 12-month high of $157.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its 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 company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LEA. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lear from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.63.

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.