Man Group plc Has $2.30 Million Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,297 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,663 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Lear were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth $683,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 394.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 244,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $23,133,000 after acquiring an additional 194,893 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lear by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 89,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $8,493,000 after acquiring an additional 6,610 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,826,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Lear by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 903,723 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $85,583,000 after purchasing an additional 187,935 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Stock Down 1.1%

LEA stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $91.07. 77,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,894. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month high of $127.58. The firm's 50-day moving average is $86.51 and its 200-day moving average is $92.63. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. Lear's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price target on Lear and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.09.

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.