Horizon Investment Services LLC Boosts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Horizon Investment Services LLC grew its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 65,452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 2,079.2% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $266,419,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 5,908 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $133.95 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $137.51 and a 200-day moving average of $153.65. The company has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.