SVB Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Leidos by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Somerset Trust Co grew its position in Leidos by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,534 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $132.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.22 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

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.