Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Holdings Trimmed by Utah Retirement Systems

Utah Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,043 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Lear were worth $856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lear by 187.0% in the 4th 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 period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Lear by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lear in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE LEA opened at $86.89 on Friday. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $133.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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, Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,940.40. This trade 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. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.