Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $666,000 Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,086 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 251.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Leidos Stock Up 0.5 %

Leidos stock opened at $165.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.15.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.69.

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.