1,400 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Purchased by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos 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 $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Leidos in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $153.00 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.52 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.57.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.31%.

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.