Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 89.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,800 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 175,971 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.69% of Lear worth $35,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Lear by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Lear by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Lear during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.73.

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Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Down 9.0 %

NYSE LEA traded down $7.47 during trading on Thursday, reaching $75.40. 139,204 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,566. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $141.43. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.69.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. As a group, 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

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.