Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 32,275 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,506,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 32,275 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 2.65% of Lear worth $172,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Lear by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,587 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 12,796 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Lear by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,611,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $107.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.58 and its 200 day moving average is $124.65. Lear Co. has a 52 week low of $101.67 and a 52 week high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEA. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.40.

Lear 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.