Ascent Group LLC Buys 1,172 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,283 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Lear by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,665,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Lear by 2.7% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Lear by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,180 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $112.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $101.67 and a 12 month high of $147.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.67.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LEA. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lear from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Lear in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.20.

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.