Sei Investments Co. Purchases 20,733 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,927 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,733 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.08% of Lear worth $4,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $174,461,000 after buying an additional 22,601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,141,476 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $124,621,000 after acquiring an additional 44,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $64,110,000 after acquiring an additional 99,072 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Lear by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $56,405,000 after purchasing an additional 121,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 495,764 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,949,000 after purchasing an additional 27,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LEA. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $88.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a one year low of $85.29 and a one year high of $145.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.97 and a 200 day moving average of $97.98.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.