Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,976,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Leidos by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 80,876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,754,000 after acquiring an additional 28,062 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $534,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $156.06 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.22 and a 12 month high of $156.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.27, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.14 and a 200-day moving average of $139.23.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $145.04 per share, with a total value of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell acquired 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,248,605.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.25.

About Leidos

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.