Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 3,911 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Leidos by 143.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $135.78 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.