35,868 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,167,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’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 value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $134.59 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $140.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.