Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 557 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.27.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $131.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.76 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

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

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.