Amundi Decreases Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Amundi decreased its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,423 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 5,420 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.13% of Lear worth $6,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $842,054,000 after purchasing an additional 526,763 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,461,000 after buying an additional 22,601 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $187,046,000 after acquiring an additional 206,822 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $137,975,000 after acquiring an additional 247,312 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,141,476 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $124,621,000 after purchasing an additional 44,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock opened at $94.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $86.28 and a 1 year high of $147.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.62.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nine 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

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.