Quantbot Technologies LP Raises Stock Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,948 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,967 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Lear were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lear by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 40.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,844 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of Lear by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,984,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Up 0.5 %

Lear stock opened at $97.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.17 and a 200 day moving average of $112.01. Lear Co. has a one year low of $92.14 and a one year high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LEA shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.25.

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.