Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,725 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 17,269 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $6,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 3,896.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Leidos by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 72,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,862,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $176.27.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $136.82 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.40 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.63. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

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.