Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 25,217 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 138.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,474 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,217 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.08% of Lear worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at $31,881,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 310.5% during 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 during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $16,129,000 after acquiring an additional 171,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Lear by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $56,405,000 after purchasing an additional 121,734 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $75.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.97. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $74.27 and a 1-year high of $144.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.