Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,601 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LEA. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Lear by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,957 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Lear by 13.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,105 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Lear by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,526 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $81.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.64. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $77.23 and a 12-month high of $144.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LEA. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

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.