Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 336,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,881,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.62% of Lear as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $614,782,000 after acquiring an additional 447,835 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 310.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,726,000 after purchasing an additional 261,390 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 7,452.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 171,553 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised 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 worth $56,405,000 after buying an additional 121,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Lear by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 414,009 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,207,000 after buying an additional 118,560 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lear

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.36.

Lear Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $81.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.43 and its 200 day moving average is $97.64. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $77.23 and a 52 week high of $144.11. 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 company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.45%.

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.