Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Holdings Lessened by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 14.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,241 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 7,221 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Leidos were worth $5,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,430,000 after purchasing an additional 161,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,193,000 after purchasing an additional 47,542 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,004,347 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $103,418,000 after purchasing an additional 144,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 30.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 567,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $88,273,000 after purchasing an additional 132,683 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.30. The stock had a trading volume of 906,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,261. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.77. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.86 and a 12-month high of $205.00.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buy back 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.38%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Leidos from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.29.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc. is a technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work spans defense, intelligence, civil government and health, with offerings in areas such as information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, engineering and mission software. The company also develops and integrates systems and equipment for complex missions, including defense and aviation applications, and provides technology and services to support government health programs and healthcare organizations.