Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Purchased by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,754,752 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 238,964 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 4.85% of Lear worth $314,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 1,881 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Lear by 145.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,587 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 12,796 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,708 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE LEA traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $104.78. The stock had a trading volume of 938,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,867. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $101.67 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.88.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LEA. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.40.

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.