Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 177.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 24,194.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,459,000 after buying an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Leidos by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 841,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $121,223,000 after purchasing an additional 239,846 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $93,891,000 after purchasing an additional 199,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $126.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.22 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $144.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.76.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LDOS. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.