LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 109,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,733 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $15,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $797,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,604,000 after purchasing an additional 99,610 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Leidos by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 145,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $20,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair downgraded shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Insider Activity

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

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock opened at $134.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Leidos Company 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.