Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,506 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,984,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Lear as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lear by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,141,476 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $124,621,000 after buying an additional 44,128 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lear by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 715,788 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $78,128,000 after buying an additional 46,303 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $64,110,000 after buying an additional 99,072 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 25.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Up 1.3 %

LEA stock traded up $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.63. 785,985 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 731,255. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $85.29 and a 1 year high of $145.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.98.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.36.

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.