Empowered Funds LLC Sells 30,020 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 89.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 30,020 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Leidos by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % 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 Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $165.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.52 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.69.

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.