Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stake Cut by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 92.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,597 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 41,145 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Lear were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Lear by 4.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,526 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,207 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 9.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,742,000 after acquiring an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 10.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lear during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LEA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA opened at $79.48 on Friday. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $138.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.17. 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 (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

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 $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

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.