LPL Financial LLC Increases Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 243.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,754 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Lear were worth $1,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 310.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $32,726,000 after acquiring an additional 261,390 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 7,452.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 171,553 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Lear by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $56,405,000 after buying an additional 121,734 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Lear by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 414,009 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,207,000 after buying an additional 118,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $10,401,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $114.27.

Lear Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $2.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.90. 435,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,244. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $138.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.79.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value 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 $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

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.