Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 122.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $186.32 on Tuesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.21 and a 12 month high of $188.36. The stock has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.00.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced 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 net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 17.31%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.23.

Leidos Company 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.