Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,912,000 after buying an additional 42,358 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised 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 buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 valued at $351,007,000 after acquiring an additional 53,307 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3 %

LDOS stock opened at $138.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $140.05 and its 200 day moving average is $154.74. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 1.15%. Leidos’s 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.