Verition Fund Management LLC Has $41.24 Million Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 23.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,021 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 79,584 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Leidos worth $41,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 6.5% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.5% during the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 0.8% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $163.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $105.52 and a one year high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for 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%. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

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.