Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Stake Lessened by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,920 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lear were worth $8,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $842,054,000 after buying an additional 526,763 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 24.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $137,975,000 after acquiring an additional 247,312 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Lear by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $187,046,000 after acquiring an additional 206,822 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Lear by 7,452.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 171,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Lear by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 595,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $56,405,000 after purchasing an additional 121,734 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Up 1.0 %

Lear stock opened at $98.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.28 and a fifty-two week high of $147.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.42.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results 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 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

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.