Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target Raised to $179.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $179.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark raised their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $162.44.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $134.18 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.89. 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 has a 12 month low of $117.79 and a 12 month high of $157.90. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 131.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.