Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases New Shares in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 38,136 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,356,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Lear at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $79,611,000. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,847,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 20,129 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 7,242 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Lear by 307.9% in the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 12,869 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 9,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Lear in the first quarter valued at $1,984,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.40.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $107.33 on Wednesday. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $101.67 and a 12-month high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.65.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

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

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.