Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 103 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Leidos by 10.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Leidos by 82.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Leidos by 51.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Leidos by 23.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 73.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $160.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $169.55 and a 200-day moving average of $155.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.63 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.23.

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.