Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Takes $3.46 Million Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 39,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Leidos by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,633 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Leidos by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,579 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Leidos by 74.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 32,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 13,639 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 110,530 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,175,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Sciencast Management LP boosted its position in Leidos by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 12,053 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 7,541 shares during the period. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total transaction of $217,402.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,894 shares in the company, valued at $3,085,957.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Leidos news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.20, for a total value of $95,872.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,030,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total transaction of $217,402.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,085,957.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $105.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 101.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.31. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.58 and a 1 year high of $110.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 22.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 138.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Argus raised shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $107.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Leidos from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.36.

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. It operates through three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.