Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $2.98 Million in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,506 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,984,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Lear as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,461,000 after acquiring an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lear by 4.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,141,476 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $124,621,000 after purchasing an additional 44,128 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Lear by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 715,788 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $78,128,000 after purchasing an additional 46,303 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Lear by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $64,110,000 after buying an additional 99,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $56,405,000 after buying an additional 121,734 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA opened at $87.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.28 and a fifty-two week high of $145.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.36.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

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.