MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 819 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,079 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 819 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $3,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Lear by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 16,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Lear by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,968 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $99.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LEA. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.25.

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.