Optimize Financial Inc Invests $453,000 in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,786 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Lear by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Lear by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 491 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.48. 600,138 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 743,605. 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 $138.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.66. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. Cowen downgraded Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays downgraded Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased 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 $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Lear Company 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.