Prospector Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Prospector Partners LLC decreased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 64,486 shares during the quarter. Leidos accounts for approximately 1.5% of Prospector Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Prospector Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Leidos worth $13,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LDOS. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 83.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Leidos by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in Leidos by 959.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock opened at $133.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.05. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Leidos 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.