Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 676,977 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 99,072 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.25% of Lear worth $64,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Lear by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,913,000 after purchasing an additional 77,691 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 9.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $14,742,000 after buying an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Lear by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth $1,946,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Lear by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,282 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $15,748,000 after acquiring an additional 9,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock traded up $3.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.49. The company had a trading volume of 585,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,375. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $94.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $86.28 and a 1-year high of $147.11.

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Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is 34.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LEA. StockNews.com raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Lear 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.