Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Grows Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,430,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $449,592,000 after acquiring an additional 188,458 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 156.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 51.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Leidos by 39.7% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $114,102,000 after purchasing an additional 222,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after buying an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell purchased 1,712 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,248,605.92. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LDOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Leidos from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.92.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $169.24. The stock had a trading volume of 85,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 841,083. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 52.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.53 and a 52-week high of $171.35.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 0.95%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 47.65%.

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.