O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,786 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,068 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $5,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $1,979,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth about $4,622,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 99.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,818 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Stock Down 0.1 %

LDOS opened at $134.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.37.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’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 $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.