Globeflex Capital L P Grows Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Globeflex Capital L P lifted its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P’s holdings in Leidos were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Leidos by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $134.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.02. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.