Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 536 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,964 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.36.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $163.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $171.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.46. The stock has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. The trade was 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 company insiders.

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.