Zacks Investment Management Has $3.65 Million Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Leidos by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc grew its position in Leidos by 6.5% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in Leidos by 3.2% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in Leidos by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 89 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 Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.81 and a 200-day moving average of $157.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.52 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LDOS. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.36.

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.