Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stock Position Lowered by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 78.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 563,930 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 2,066,922 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 1.04% of Lear worth $53,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the 4th 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 period. Addison Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Remove Ads

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.35. 636,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,745. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $86.28 and a twelve month high of $147.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $95.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.36.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.36.

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.