Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Leidos were worth $1,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in Leidos by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Leidos by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 6.3% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $126.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.22 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.36 and a 200-day moving average of $156.84. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.27.

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.