Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 1,796 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Artemis Investment Management LLP reduced its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.05% of Leidos worth $9,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 173.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,381 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Leidos by 11.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 29,828 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Leidos by 23.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,507 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 6.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 188,912 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,558,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $155.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.73 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.07.

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.