Eschler Asset Management LLP Acquires 2,000 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Eschler Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Lear accounts for 1.9% of Eschler Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Lear were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lear by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lear by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lear by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $209,531,000 after acquiring an additional 498,918 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LEA. TD Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays downgraded shares of Lear from an “equal weight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lear from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.09.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $88.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.22. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $133.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

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.