KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $1.39 Million Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 45,927 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 20,733 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 310.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 345,580 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,726,000 after purchasing an additional 261,390 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Lear by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 15,657 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Lear by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,120 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after buying an additional 18,715 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen cut Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.36.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $87.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $86.28 and a 12-month high of $145.35. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.31.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Lear’s payout ratio is 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.