State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Leidos were worth $5,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $132.78 on Friday. 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 $123.22 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.74. The company has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % 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

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

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.