Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Lear were worth $247,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lear by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Lear by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $209,531,000 after buying an additional 498,918 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Lear by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,461,000 after buying an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $107,313,000 after acquiring an additional 356,760 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Lear by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,056,694 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $100,069,000 after acquiring an additional 29,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $78.72 on Tuesday. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $138.69. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.88.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays downgraded Lear from an “equal weight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.