Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,200 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Lear worth $7,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LEA. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $38,913,000 after purchasing an additional 77,691 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Lear by 9.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,742,000 after acquiring an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $3,871,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Lear by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $88.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $85.29 and a 52-week high of $145.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.36.

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.