Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $898,000 Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $129.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.47, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $131.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.42.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.