Ethic Inc. Buys 2,874 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,762 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Lear were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Lear by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $209,531,000 after acquiring an additional 498,918 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position 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 worth $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lear by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen downgraded Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lear from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Lear stock traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $94.69. The company had a trading volume of 463,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,853. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.08 and a 200-day moving average of $92.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $73.85 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Lear 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.