Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,221 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

Lear Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LEA stock opened at $93.61 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $86.28 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.94.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lear 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.