Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770,930 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 20,413 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.58% of Leidos worth $111,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $133.95 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $137.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.23 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The stock 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LDOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased 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. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

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.