Moors & Cabot Inc. Increases Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,086 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,430,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,592,000 after acquiring an additional 188,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $114,102,000 after purchasing an additional 222,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after buying an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $165.55 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.52 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $170.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.15. The stock has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.69.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Company 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.