Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 307 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. FMR LLC grew its position in Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,402,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Leidos by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 841,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $121,223,000 after buying an additional 239,846 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Leidos by 53.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,891,000 after buying an additional 199,686 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock opened at $138.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.91 and its 200 day moving average is $154.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.23 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LDOS. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

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.