Inspire Investing LLC Buys 478 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 70.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Lear by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lear by 240.4% in the 3rd 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. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Lear during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 71.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Up 1.7 %

Lear stock opened at $96.25 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.64. Lear Co. has a twelve month low of $90.03 and a twelve month high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its 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 business had revenue of $5.58 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven 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, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.73.

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.