Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Stock Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Leidos makes up 0.9% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.17% of Leidos worth $25,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth approximately $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Leidos by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $646,430,000 after buying an additional 161,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,193,000 after acquiring an additional 47,542 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,004,347 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $103,418,000 after acquiring an additional 144,716 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,623,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total value of $1,406,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LDOS. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Leidos from $161.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.85.

Leidos Trading Down 0.1%

LDOS opened at $142.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.86 and a 12-month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buy back 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc (NYSE: LDOS) is a technology, engineering and science company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work supports defense, intelligence, civil government, health and transportation missions, with offerings that include information technology modernization, systems integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, engineering and mission operations.

The company also provides health technology and scientific services, transportation management systems, aviation and security solutions, and support for complex government programs.