Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 4,379 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,379 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Leidos were worth $9,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Leidos by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.69.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,889 shares of company stock valued at $675,786. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $155.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.18.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.10%.

Leidos 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.