Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.95% of Lear worth $614,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 467,863 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $51,067,000 after acquiring an additional 12,379 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Lear by 405.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,356 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $5,606,000 after purchasing an additional 41,197 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 23.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,701 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Lear by 295.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 5,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Lear by 8.3% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 473,881 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $51,724,000 after buying an additional 36,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear Trading Down 7.5 %

NYSE LEA traded down $6.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.11. The stock had a trading volume of 355,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,428. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.98. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $81.72 and a twelve month high of $144.77.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 3.75%. Lear's payout ratio is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.