Dorsey Wright & Associates Acquires New Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 26,827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,373,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after acquiring an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 1,184.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after acquiring an additional 462,792 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 24,194.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,459,000 after acquiring an additional 375,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after purchasing an additional 303,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $163.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.52 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.41.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.