Signaturefd LLC Raises Stock Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $77,526,000 after acquiring an additional 405,875 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,896,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $254,560,000 after acquiring an additional 287,483 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 643.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 243,007 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,612,000 after acquiring an additional 210,333 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,087,058 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $146,057,000 after acquiring an additional 182,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth $17,358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock opened at $126.58 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $138.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.69. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $117.79 and a twelve month high of $157.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.33.

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.