Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (LEG) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leggett & Platt, were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,434,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,664,000 after buying an additional 481,689 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, by 1,572.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,942,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,969,000 after buying an additional 11,228,920 shares in the last quarter. Thomaspartners Inc. boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, by 8.7% in the first quarter. Thomaspartners Inc. now owns 3,821,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,307,000 after buying an additional 305,900 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, by 1.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,992,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,248,000 after buying an additional 36,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt, by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,478,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,379,000 after buying an additional 36,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.10% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt, (NYSE:LEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $989.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Leggett & Platt, had a return on equity of 31.02% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Leggett & Platt,’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 13th. Leggett & Platt,’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: “[[title]]” was first posted by [[site]] and is the property of of [[site]]. If you are accessing this piece of content on another domain, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of United States and international trademark and copyright law. The correct version of this piece of content can be read at [[permalink]].

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Hilliard Lyons upgraded Leggett & Platt, from a “neutral” rating to a “long-term buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Gabelli assumed coverage on Leggett & Platt, in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut Leggett & Platt, from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Piper Jaffray Companies reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Leggett & Platt, in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Leggett & Platt, from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Leggett & Platt, currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

In related news, insider Karl G. Glassman sold 13,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.79, for a total transaction of $714,169.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 337,455 shares in the company, valued at $18,151,704.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Scott S. Douglas sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total transaction of $266,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,924,443.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,175,271. 1.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Leggett & Platt, Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated is a manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a range of engineered components and products found in homes, offices and automobiles. The Company operates in four segments: Residential Furnishings, Commercial Products, Industrial Materials and Specialized Products.