Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $1.95 Million in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,946,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 7.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 526,763 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 44.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,570 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the third quarter valued at about $362,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Lear by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 203,348 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $22,195,000 after acquiring an additional 11,264 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lear by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 45,998 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 8,937 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Trading Up 1.6 %

Lear stock opened at $97.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46. Lear Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week high of $147.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $102.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays cut shares of Lear from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.25.

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.