Empowered Funds LLC Trims Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 89.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 30,020 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Leidos by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 82.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 23.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.69.

Insider Activity

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

Leidos Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $165.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $170.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.52 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

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.