Pettee Investors Inc. Lowers Stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Pettee Investors Inc. lessened its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,442 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 6,234 shares during the quarter. Pettee Investors Inc.'s holdings in Lear were worth $989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 7.3% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $842,054,000 after acquiring an additional 526,763 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 24.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $137,975,000 after buying an additional 247,312 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Lear by 13.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $187,046,000 after buying an additional 206,822 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Lear by 7,452.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $16,129,000 after buying an additional 171,553 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Lear by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $56,405,000 after acquiring an additional 121,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE LEA traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $96.32. 443,263 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 709,035. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $86.28 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $95.08 and its 200-day moving average is $100.12.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen cut Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.36.

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.