Gary Stephen May Sells 1,000 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Stock

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,241.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Leidos Stock Up 1.7 %

Leidos stock traded up $2.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $147.34. The stock had a trading volume of 568,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,765. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.22 and a 12-month high of $155.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 74,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,082,000 after acquiring an additional 11,576 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Leidos in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,512,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its stake in Leidos by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 166,069 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after buying an additional 7,703 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter valued at $1,900,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 97.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after buying an additional 6,360 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LDOS. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.25.

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.