Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 447,835 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Lear worth $614,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 310.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,726,000 after purchasing an additional 261,390 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 7,452.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,129,000 after buying an additional 171,553 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Lear by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $56,405,000 after buying an additional 121,734 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Lear by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 414,009 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,207,000 after buying an additional 118,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth $10,401,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LEA shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

Insider Activity

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $87.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $86.28 and a 12-month high of $145.35.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

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.