Candriam S.C.A. Has $3.20 Million Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,818 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 60,959 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Lear worth $3,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Lear by 30.7% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 3,678 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Lear by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,775 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lear Price Performance

LEA traded down $3.04 on Tuesday, hitting $96.32. 647,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 715,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $86.28 and a 12 month high of $147.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.97.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen lowered Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.36.

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.