Verition Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 295.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,967 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,952 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $842,054,000 after purchasing an additional 526,763 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lear by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,754,752 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $314,620,000 after purchasing an additional 238,964 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 36.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $213,726,000 after buying an additional 504,091 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 13.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $187,046,000 after buying an additional 206,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 24.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $137,975,000 after buying an additional 247,312 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Trading Up 2.7 %

LEA stock opened at $102.56 on Tuesday. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.22.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 32.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LEA shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.25.

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.