Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $4.35 Million Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,828 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Leidos were worth $4,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 74,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,082,000 after acquiring an additional 11,576 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth about $2,512,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 166,069 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after buying an additional 7,703 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,900,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 97.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 6,360 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LDOS. Bank of America increased their price target on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.08.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $157.06 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.22 and a 52 week high of $159.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.70.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell bought 1,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $145.04 per share, with a total value of $248,308.48. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,605.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Leidos news, CEO Thomas Arthur Bell purchased 1,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $145.04 per share, for a total transaction of $248,308.48. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 22,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,605.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Company 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.