Prudential PLC Buys 5,064 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 17th, 2023

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS – Get Rating) by 139.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,707 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,064 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Leidos by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,087,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,629,768,000 after acquiring an additional 236,272 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,137,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $364,047,000 after purchasing an additional 103,470 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,975,172 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $172,768,000 after purchasing an additional 124,866 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,899,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,149,000 after purchasing an additional 426,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,731,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $187,086,000 after purchasing an additional 79,899 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.74% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $76.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.92 and a 12-month high of $110.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.29 and its 200 day moving average is $97.92.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The aerospace company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.12). Leidos had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 4.60%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, EVP Jerald S. Howe, Jr. bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.25 per share, for a total transaction of $96,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,879.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.71, for a total transaction of $206,062.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,515.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jerald S. Howe, Jr. acquired 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.25 per share, for a total transaction of $96,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 16,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,879.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Leidos from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Leidos from $130.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Leidos from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.75.

About Leidos

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Leidos Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. It operates through the following three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment provides services, solutions, and products focusing on digital modernization, mission systems and integration, Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (“”C4ISR””) technologies and services, maritime solutions, transformative software, analytics, intelligence analysis, mission support and logistics services, weapons systems and space systems and solutions.