American Century Companies Inc. Has $32.73 Million Stock Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 310.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,580 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 261,390 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.64% of Lear worth $32,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 187.0% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lear by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LEA. Cowen cut Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.36.

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Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.38. 206,654 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.16. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $85.29 and a 12 month high of $145.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.