Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Position in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,358,330 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 145,751 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 4.40% of Lear worth $208,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LEA. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in Lear by 2.3% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Lear by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 491 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Lear by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,709 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Lear by 7.6% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Lear by 3.6% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 8,159 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.26. 60,275 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 708,342. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.29. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $126.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.43.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Lear had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 2.09%. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lear Corporation 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, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Lear's payout ratio is 36.11%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total value of $110,224.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 84 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,800.24. This trade represents a 93.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LEA. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on Lear and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Lear from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $116.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Lear in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.64.

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.