Van ECK Associates Corp Has $121.22 Million Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 841,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 239,846 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.63% of Leidos worth $121,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,912,000 after purchasing an additional 42,358 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Leidos by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Leidos by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,007,000 after purchasing an additional 53,307 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer bought 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, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LDOS. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $130.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.21 and its 200-day moving average is $157.48. 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 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.