ZEGA Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 2,018 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,018 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,317 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,645,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Leidos by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,053,000 after purchasing an additional 330,623 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Leidos by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 73,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,463,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LDOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Leidos Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $133.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $139.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.31.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

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.