AM Squared Ltd Increases Holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

AM Squared Ltd increased its position in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 51,666.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,106 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Lear comprises about 0.9% of AM Squared Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. AM Squared Ltd’s holdings in Lear were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,023,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $872,640,000 after buying an additional 109,746 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,179,175 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $307,721,000 after purchasing an additional 153,282 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 1.0% during the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,816,880 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $207,506,000 after purchasing an additional 17,820 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $150,796,000 after purchasing an additional 380,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Lear by 4.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,023,165 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $148,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lear from $132.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.56.

Lear Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.65. The company had a trading volume of 383,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,831. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.47. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $147.57.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.59%.

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.