First Command Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 110.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,256 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 841,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $121,223,000 after purchasing an additional 239,846 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $93,891,000 after purchasing an additional 199,686 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 185.3% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 157,379 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,672,000 after purchasing an additional 102,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS opened at $129.52 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.22 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $143.16 and its 200-day moving average is $156.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.