Empower Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the first quarter valued at about $406,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Leidos by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,026 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after buying an additional 2,390 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Leidos by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LDOS. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.23.

Leidos Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $160.63 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.63 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.25.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.