Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Bought by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 11,592 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Leidos by 2.6% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Leidos by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $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 Leidos by 16.8% in the second 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 valued at $103,418,000 after purchasing an additional 144,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $88,273,000 after purchasing an additional 132,683 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.30. 906,836 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,105,261. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.86 and a 12-month high of $205.00.

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

Leidos declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.