Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 563,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,066,922 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.04% of Lear worth $53,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 187.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut 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 shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cowen cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $93.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $86.28 and a 1 year high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.45%.

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.