KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

KBC Group NV grew its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Leidos by 1,184.3% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,213,000 after buying an additional 462,792 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Leidos by 24,194.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,459,000 after acquiring an additional 375,495 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 76.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,942,000 after acquiring an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Leidos by 138.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after acquiring an additional 300,486 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $158.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $169.55 and a 200-day moving average of $155.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.72 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

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.