National Bank of Canada FI Makes New Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 20,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,960,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 295.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 5,952 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 101.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,068 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Lear by 15.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 59,369 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $6,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,910 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Lear by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,526 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Lear during the 3rd quarter valued at $284,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.00.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE:LEA traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $77.21. 45,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,600. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month high of $138.69. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.09 and a 200 day moving average of $96.15.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.