Shell Asset Management Co. Buys 5,357 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,945 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,357 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth about $27,000. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 260.0% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Argus boosted their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.31.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Leidos Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $197.11 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.62 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.81. The company has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.71.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.12%.

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.