Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Invests $251,000 in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. CWM LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 8.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Leidos by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,780 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,448,000 after buying an additional 6,858 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Leidos by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % 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 Down 0.9 %

LDOS stock opened at $163.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.52 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $171.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.27.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.36.

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.