Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Takes Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,462 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 187.0% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Lear by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Lear by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen cut Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

Lear Stock Down 1.1 %

LEA opened at $81.43 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.43 and a 200 day moving average of $97.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear Co. has a 12 month low of $77.23 and a 12 month high of $144.11. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.45%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lear

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.