25,663 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Purchased by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,697,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos by 1,460.0% during 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 purchased a new stake in Leidos during the third quarter worth $29,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.22 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.76.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other 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 transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.