Engine Capital Management LP Sells 650 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Engine Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Leidos makes up approximately 4.1% of Engine Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Engine Capital Management LP owned 0.17% of Leidos worth $24,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 209.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total value of $131,836.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,471.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet raised Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.67.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $144.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 664,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,941. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.07 and a 12 month high of $151.32. The firm has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.38 and a 200-day moving average of $123.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. Leidos’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

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.