Schroder Investment Management Group Invests $90.70 Million in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 966,543 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $90,700,000. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 1.78% of Lear at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $614,782,000 after acquiring an additional 447,835 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $31,881,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Lear by 310.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $32,726,000 after purchasing an additional 261,390 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 171,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted 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 buying 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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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LEA. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA traded down $6.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $82.37. 456,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,304. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $81.49 and a 52 week high of $145.05.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.45%.

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.