Pzena Investment Management LLC Buys 946,109 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,187,890 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 946,109 shares during the period. Lear comprises 2.9% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 12.78% of Lear worth $820,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,665,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 2.7% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,828 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 1.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 16.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 882 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 6.7% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,180 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $132.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.56.

Lear Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.74. 482,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 637,650. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $147.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.02 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is 33.59%.

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.