Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 89.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 175,971 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.69% of Lear worth $35,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 295.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 5,952 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,105 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,068 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 59,369 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Lear by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,526 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Down 1.1 %

Lear stock opened at $81.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.64. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $77.23 and a twelve month high of $144.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.