1,400 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Bought by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in Leidos by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 6,395 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $136,491,000 after buying an additional 283,558 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after buying an additional 9,710 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,622,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $153.00 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.52 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.31%.

Leidos 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.