Martingale Asset Management L P Reduces Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,983 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 12,530 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Lear were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LEA. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lear by 187.0% during 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 period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Lear by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the third quarter worth $50,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LEA. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $117.00) on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.27.

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Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.62. 587,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,957. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $91.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.79. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $73.85 and a twelve month high of $138.69.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lear Company 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.