Paloma Partners Management Co Purchases Shares of 2,670 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:LDOS traded up $3.14 on Monday, reaching $152.97. 1,208,942 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,777. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.55 and its 200-day moving average is $133.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.22 and a 1-year high of $155.45.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Leidos from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total transaction of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.