Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 804 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Leidos were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Leidos by 51.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after acquiring an additional 283,558 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Leidos by 100.1% during 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. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in Leidos by 188.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 5,403 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 21.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 97.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 6,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $158.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.65. 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 fifty-two week low of $104.72 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. 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 firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share 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 $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.23.

About Leidos

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.