Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 92.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,597 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 41,145 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Lear were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,700,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Lear by 29.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 498,918 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lear by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $614,782,000 after buying an additional 447,835 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth $31,881,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 310.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $32,726,000 after acquiring an additional 261,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LEA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Lear in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.91.

Lear Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $3.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $85.36. 610,960 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,438. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $138.69.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.