Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 86.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,901 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,018 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $2,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Lear by 187.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 240.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.18.

Lear Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LEA stock opened at $96.01 on Friday. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $86.28 and a twelve month high of $147.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 13.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

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.