Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New $1.95 Million Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,946,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LEA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 70.5% during the second 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. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Lear by 71.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Lear by 1.0% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 16,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Lear by 8.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.25.

Lear Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $97.89 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $102.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s payout ratio is 32.39%.

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.