Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,545,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LDOS. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $133.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $139.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.30. The company has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS 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, equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend 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.