175 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Acquired by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 175 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 21.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter worth approximately $525,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $167.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.15 and its 200 day moving average is $155.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.30 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.23.

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.