Vestcor Inc Invests $413,000 in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,359 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lear by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Lear during the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,542,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,123. 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 one year low of $86.28 and a one year high of $147.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $95.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.17.

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Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen downgraded Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.36.

Lear Company 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.