Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 26,396 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 57.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,394 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,396 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Lear worth $6,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,221 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth about $362,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lear by 44.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,570 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth $1,946,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Lear by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $187,046,000 after purchasing an additional 206,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Barclays cut 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. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.36.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $96.72. 674,177 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 698,284. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $86.28 and a 52 week high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

About Lear

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.