Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 6,473 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 910 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 6,473 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Lear were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter worth about $62,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Lear by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 654 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA traded up $3.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.33. 599,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 641,215. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.65. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $101.67 and a 1 year high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid 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 2.87%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LEA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Lear in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.40.

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.