Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,378,945 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 88.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,378,945 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Leidos worth $44,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Up 4.8 %

LDOS stock opened at $139.49 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.22 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.41 and its 200-day moving average is $155.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. William Blair cut Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.87.

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.