Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 25,187.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,069 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 6,045 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Leidos by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 959.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 497.9% during the 4th quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 70,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,166,000 after acquiring an additional 58,763 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.69.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,137.25. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $160.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.29 and a 200 day moving average of $148.31. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $20.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

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.