Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,969 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $6,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3,896.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 72,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,862,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,378 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Leidos by 4.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 233,531 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,066,000 after acquiring an additional 10,830 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter worth about $332,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $132.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $146.93 and a 200 day moving average of $157.32. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.98 and a 1 year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced 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 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.22%.

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.