Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 377,756 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 435.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.35% of Leidos worth $67,032,000 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. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $138.62 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.74.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LDOS. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

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.