Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.23 Billion Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,003 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.58% of Leidos worth $2,225,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $136.29 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. 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’s 50 day moving average is $138.32 and its 200 day moving average is $153.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

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.