Brokerages Set Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) PT at $123.36

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.36.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Lear Stock Up 2.6 %

LEA stock traded up $2.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.72. The stock had a trading volume of 674,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,284. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear has a 1-year low of $86.28 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.69.

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Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS 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, equities analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lear by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $247,566,000 after purchasing an additional 283,838 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Lear by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $209,531,000 after purchasing an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Lear by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $174,461,000 after buying an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $137,975,000 after buying an additional 247,312 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.