Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 21.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,825 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lear were worth $551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,187,890 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $820,929,000 after buying an additional 946,109 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Lear by 970.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $76,373,000 after purchasing an additional 490,324 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised its stake in Lear by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,796,000 after purchasing an additional 380,771 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Lear by 196.7% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 319,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $46,239,000 after purchasing an additional 211,574 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $107.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $101.67 and a 12 month high of $147.11. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LEA shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.70.

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.