GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 422 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lear by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,912,006 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $793,391,000 after acquiring an additional 45,567 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Lear by 17.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,896,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $254,560,000 after purchasing an additional 287,483 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Lear by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,237,016 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,382,000 after purchasing an additional 149,958 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 405,875 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 529,304 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $71,033,000 after buying an additional 13,248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA opened at $124.29 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.77. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $117.79 and a 52-week high of $157.90. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company 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.