Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Shares Purchased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 52.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,846 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,438 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Leggett & Platt were worth $3,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at about $735,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

LEG opened at $18.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.23 and a 200-day moving average of $22.52. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $17.19 and a 1-year high of $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.01). Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 2.90% and a positive return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Leggett & Platt’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is -184.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on LEG shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Leggett & Platt from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.33.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs, manufactures, and sells engineered components and products in the United States, Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company offers steel rods, drawn wires, specialty foam chemicals and additives, innersprings, specialty foam for use in bedding and furniture, private label finished mattresses, ready-to-assemble mattress foundations, static foundations, and adjustable beds, as well as machines for producing innersprings; industrial sewing and quilting machines; mattress-packaging; and glue-drying equipment for various industrial users of steel rod and wire, manufacturers of finished bedding, bedding brands and mattress retailers, E-commerce retailers, big box retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers.