5,048 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Acquired by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,048 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Leidos by 83.0% in 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 last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Leidos by 39.6% in the fourth 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. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in Leidos by 36.4% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,979,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Leidos in the third quarter worth approximately $4,622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE LDOS opened at $133.66 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.30.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

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.