Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Purchases 1,055 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 145.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,742 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management raised its position in shares of Leidos by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 4,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the period. McAdam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $286,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,186 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Leidos by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 88,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold 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 $188.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $188.27 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.64. The stock has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.71.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 15.12%.

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.