Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 8,300 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Leidos news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $129.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.46 and its 200-day moving average is $113.44. The company has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $131.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 107.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Argus increased their target price on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.42.

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.