Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Position Lowered by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,512 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 873 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Lear Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $94.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Lear Co. has a one year low of $86.28 and a one year high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEA. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.18.

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.