GAM Holding AG Acquires New Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

GAM Holding AG purchased a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,429 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,651,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,301 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Lear by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,584 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,656 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 38,232 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 11,744 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,146 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Lear by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,823 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,245,000 after buying an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Stock Up 0.3 %

Lear stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.42. The company had a trading volume of 271,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,310. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.28 and a fifty-two week high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $94.95 and its 200-day moving average is $101.62.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.00.

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.