Private Client Services LLC Buys New Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Private Client Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,615 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the second quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos during the second quarter worth approximately $413,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 7.3% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Leidos in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.37. 537,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,154. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

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.