Voloridge Investment Management LLC Buys 159,087 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 655,520 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,087 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $62,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter worth $90,700,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lear by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $209,531,000 after purchasing an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lear by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lear by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter worth $31,881,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $93.87 on Wednesday. Lear Co. has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $128.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.04 and its 200 day moving average is $92.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LEA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Lear and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lear from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Lear from an “equal weight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.09.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.