UBS Group AG Sells 73,238 Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

UBS Group AG reduced its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 669,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,238 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Leggett & Platt were worth $7,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Leggett & Platt in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the second quarter worth approximately $91,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the second quarter worth approximately $94,000. 64.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leggett & Platt from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leggett & Platt currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.33.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of LEG stock opened at $9.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.75. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $7.86 and a 52 week high of $13.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.84.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.11). Leggett & Platt had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 5.69%.The company had revenue of $918.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.79 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is presently 12.42%.

Leggett & Platt 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.