Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stake Cut by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,199 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 8,642 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Lear worth $10,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,216 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $38,913,000 after purchasing an additional 77,691 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at $3,871,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $14,742,000 after buying an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Lear by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,759,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LEA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Lear Stock Up 1.4 %

LEA stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.42. The stock had a trading volume of 730,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,057. 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 $92.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $73.85 and a 1-year high of $138.69.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is currently 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.