Zacks Investment Management Acquires 7,919 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,919 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Leidos were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LDOS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Leidos by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,225,784,000 after purchasing an additional 84,003 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $487,649,000 after buying an additional 27,410 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE LDOS opened at $139.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.63. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.28 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 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, equities analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LDOS. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.23.

About Leidos

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.