Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Purchased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $135.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.15. 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 market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 1.18%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.