National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 62.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 66,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 109,925 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Leidos were worth $9,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,765 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,936,000 after acquiring an additional 222,075 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 510.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Leidos by 733.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,361 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,712,000 after purchasing an additional 65,443 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Leidos by 356.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 44,432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,401,000 after purchasing an additional 34,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 39,786 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,732,000 after buying an additional 9,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, 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 at this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

Leidos Trading Down 4.3 %

LDOS opened at $133.50 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.05.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

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.