Mutual Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 9,579 Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 9.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,742,000 after buying an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Lear by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the third quarter valued at $1,946,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Lear by 7.3% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $15,748,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 39.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,221 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $96.25 on Monday. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.03 and a fifty-two week high of $147.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.57. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 32.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.73.

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.