Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 903,723 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 187,935 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.66% of Lear worth $85,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Lear by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 196,829 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $21,015,000 after purchasing an additional 30,529 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Lear by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $2,782,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEA. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.00.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA traded down $1.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 505,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,509. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $133.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.99.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

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.