Creative Planning Raises Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Creative Planning increased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,254 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Leidos were worth $12,030,000 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 3,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 704,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $95,012,000 after buying an additional 684,272 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth $45,665,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Leidos by 262.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 459,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,005,000 after purchasing an additional 332,882 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,416,817 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $461,065,000 after purchasing an additional 251,245 shares during the period. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth about $29,881,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Leidos from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.23.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $189.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.95. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.69. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.44. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Company 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.