Vision Financial Markets LLC Takes $57,000 Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing 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 worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Leidos by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $133.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.90. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.22 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Leidos 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.