Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stock Position Increased by Lyrical Asset Management LP

Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,056,694 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 29,370 shares during the quarter. Lear accounts for approximately 1.5% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned approximately 1.94% of Lear worth $100,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $38,913,000 after purchasing an additional 77,691 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth $3,871,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $14,742,000 after acquiring an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Lear by 16.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $81.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.64. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $77.23 and a 1 year high of $144.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen lowered Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

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.