The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 247 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 81,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Leidos were worth $13,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Leidos by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 41,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,462,000 after buying an additional 10,380 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Leidos by 2,113.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 56,847 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 48.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,035 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 4,269 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 31.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,977 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % 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.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $165.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $105.52 and a one year high of $202.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.29 and a 200 day moving average of $156.94.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LDOS. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

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.