Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 82,014 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,870 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $11,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 0.8 %

LDOS opened at $135.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.52. The stock has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen cut 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

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.