Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG Holdings Decreased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its holdings in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 659,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Leggett & Platt were worth $5,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,707,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,459 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 35.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,380,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,158,000 after purchasing an additional 890,577 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Leggett & Platt by 47.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,175,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,706,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Leggett & Platt by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,175,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,298,000 after buying an additional 312,840 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Leggett & Platt from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Leggett & Platt from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.67.

Leggett & Platt Stock Down 1.8%

Leggett & Platt stock opened at $11.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $13.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.71.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Leggett & Platt had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 15.00%. The firm had revenue of $938.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Inc is a diversified manufacturer specializing in the design, engineering and production of a wide range of engineered components and products. The company’s offerings span several end markets, including residential bedding, commercial and residential furniture, automotive seating and interiors, aerospace applications and industrial products. By integrating product design with proprietary manufacturing processes, Leggett & Platt serves as a key supplier to both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distributors.

The company’s core product lines include coil springs and support systems for mattresses and furniture, adjustable bed mechanisms, engineered components such as extruded and formed metal products, and specialty foam and bedding products.