Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 841,388 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 88,818 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.63% of Leidos worth $121,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. State Street Corp lifted its position in Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after acquiring an additional 56,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,912,000 after buying an additional 42,358 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $351,007,000 after acquiring an additional 53,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS opened at $129.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.22 and a 1-year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

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.