Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 64,867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’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 owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This 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 Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $145.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.62 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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, 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, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. 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.