Barclays PLC Buys 9,363 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,412 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Lear worth $13,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $614,782,000 after acquiring an additional 447,835 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Lear by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $209,531,000 after purchasing 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 worth $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $100,069,000 after buying an additional 29,370 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter valued at about $90,700,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LEA traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.01. 624,374 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,758. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $89.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 objective on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

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.