Prakash Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Prakash Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its stake in Lear by 7.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,133 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 240.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Lear by 7.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 104,679 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,426,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lear during the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $97.55 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $86.28 and a 12 month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

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.