Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 114,536 Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 345,589 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,536 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.26% of Leggett & Platt worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 555.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,102 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,028 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 461.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,688 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 7,963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Leggett & Platt stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,548,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,409,469. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $6.48 and a 12-month high of $14.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.52.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 11.67% and a positive return on equity of 17.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Leggett & Platt's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.35%.

About Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of furniture and engineered components and products among homes, offices, automobiles, and commercial aircraft. It operates through the following segments: Bedding Products, Specialized Products, and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products.