Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,394 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,396 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $6,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Lear by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $95.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.17. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $86.28 and a 52 week high of $147.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

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.