Royce & Associates LP Makes New Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 109,826 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,401,000. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.20% of Lear as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lear by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $842,054,000 after purchasing an additional 526,763 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lear by 24.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $137,975,000 after acquiring an additional 247,312 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Lear by 13.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $187,046,000 after acquiring an additional 206,822 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 7,452.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,129,000 after acquiring an additional 171,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $56,405,000 after purchasing an additional 121,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on LEA. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cowen cut Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

Lear Price Performance

LEA opened at $95.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.36. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $86.28 and a 1 year high of $147.11. 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 (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear Company 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.