Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Invests $423,000 in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,462 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LEA. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in 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. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Lear by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 463,467 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $43,890,000 after purchasing an additional 203,963 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $1,960,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LEA shares. Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Stock Up 1.4 %

LEA stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.42. 730,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,057. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $73.85 and a twelve month high of $138.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

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 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 yield of 3.98%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.