Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Stock Holdings Increased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,087,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,629,768,000 after acquiring an additional 236,272 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 10.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,010,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,381,830,000 after buying an additional 1,475,772 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,660,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $429,501,000 after buying an additional 272,090 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 5.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,044,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,554,000 after buying an additional 169,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Leidos by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,936,261 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $269,738,000 after buying an additional 21,940 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $129.23 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.34. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.58 and a 52 week high of $131.50. The firm has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.70.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,879,471.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $130.82.

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.