Paloma Partners Management Co Purchases Shares of 2,670 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 209.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total value of $131,836.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Leidos from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Leidos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.83.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock traded up $3.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $152.97. 1,208,942 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.22 and a 1 year high of $155.45.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. Leidos had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 2.04%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 65.52%.

Leidos 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.