Insider Selling: Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Director Sells $535,777.56 in Stock

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Leidos Trading Down 13.6 %

Shares of LDOS opened at $167.96 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.30 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Leidos by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,622,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 69,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,136,000 after buying an additional 34,820 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 4.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,657 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 807,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $131,653,000 after buying an additional 31,619 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

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.