UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 2,520 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,812 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Leidos by 435.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,032,000 after buying an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 151.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after buying an additional 330,623 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,402,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $133.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. 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 52 week low of $123.23 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

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.