Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $2.29 Million Stock Position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 31.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Leggett & Platt worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter worth $26,814,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,934,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,636,000 after acquiring an additional 786,297 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,373,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,127,000 after acquiring an additional 262,145 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 332.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 233,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after acquiring an additional 179,734 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,210,000. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Leggett & Platt Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE LEG traded down $0.21 on Monday, reaching $12.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,055,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,692,227. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $10.11 and a 52-week high of $30.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.44 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.64 and its 200 day moving average is $17.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 3.44% and a positive return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.74 per share, for a total transaction of $64,440.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 32,302 shares in the company, valued at $346,923.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Leggett & Platt news, Director Mark A. Blinn purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.74 per share, for a total transaction of $64,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $346,923.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ryan Michael Kleiboeker purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.95 per share, with a total value of $109,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,604.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 65,635 shares of company stock worth $773,447 in the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leggett & Platt 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.