Verition Fund Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 253,021 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 79,584 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $41,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Trading Down 1.3 %

Leidos stock opened at $163.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $171.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.67.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.