Vestcor Inc Buys Shares of 4,359 Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,359 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lear by 247.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $823,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Lear by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,992 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management boosted its stake in Lear by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 9,505 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $95.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $86.28 and a twelve month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued 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 net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

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.