Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 6,888 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at $203,000. Camden National Bank bought a new stake in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at about $258,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at about $355,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Leidos by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,302 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,635,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,007,000 after acquiring an additional 53,307 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $165.40 on Monday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.52 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

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.