Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,405,638 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 29,987 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.35% of Leidos worth $1,667,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 209.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total value of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares in the company, valued at $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $143.87 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.15 and a 1 year high of $151.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.76.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

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.