Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 77 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Leidos by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,309 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 660.5% during the fourth quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 27,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 24,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,773 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,009,000 after acquiring an additional 10,462 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $139.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.74. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.22 and a 1 year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.