Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Director Sells $279,278.72 in Stock

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos 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 owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.22 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $144.89 and its 200 day moving average is $156.76.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 36.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 100.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 21.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 9,710 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $4,622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on LDOS shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

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.