LPL Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

LPL Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 7.7% in the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,579 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 74.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 32,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 13,639 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.9% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 110,530 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,175,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 167.1% in the second quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 12,053 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 7,541 shares during the period. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 471,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,383,000 after buying an additional 145,700 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. TheStreet lowered Leidos from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Leidos from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Leidos from $129.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $107.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.80.

Leidos Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $104.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.84. The company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 100.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.76. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.58 and a 1-year high of $110.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 22.27%. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 138.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total value of $217,402.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,085,957.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.20, for a total value of $95,872.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,030,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total value of $217,402.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,894 shares in the company, valued at $3,085,957.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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. It operates through three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.