Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Position Raised by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 173.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,381 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Leidos by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 42,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 12,110.6% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,901,000 after buying an additional 74,117 shares during the period. BOKF NA increased its stake in Leidos by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 13,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 168,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,636,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.08.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $158.45 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.60 and a 200-day moving average of $143.51. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.30, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.70. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.22 and a 52 week high of $160.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

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.