Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Bought by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 25.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LEA. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter worth $478,000. Kendall Capital Management lifted its position in Lear by 81.3% during the second quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,736 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Lear in the 2nd quarter worth about $530,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Lear by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 104,565 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,907,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $108.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.79. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $101.67 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Lear from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.70.

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.