Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 345 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,203 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 320.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,246,768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $114,902,000 after purchasing an additional 949,955 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 36.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,687,000 after purchasing an additional 479,906 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 272,090 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $18,976,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 169,351 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LDOS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TheStreet raised Leidos from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Leidos from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Argus upped their price target on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.42.

Leidos Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE LDOS opened at $129.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.44. The company has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 91.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $131.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.04%.

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.