Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Boosts Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP increased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 660.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,083 shares during the quarter. Leidos comprises approximately 1.3% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in Leidos by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,534 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos Stock Up 0.1 %

LDOS stock opened at $129.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.89 and its 200 day moving average is $156.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.22 and a one year high of $202.90. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.