Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 1,852 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Leidos were worth $9,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,979,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,622,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 99.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 13,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 6.1 %

LDOS opened at $143.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.30. 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 results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.