Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stock Position Boosted by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,369 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,288 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Lear were worth $2,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 966 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Lear by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at $580,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,626 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,900,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded down $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 526,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,511. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $88.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $133.56.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LEA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.