JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,165,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 338,820 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.37% of Leidos worth $456,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,225,784,000 after purchasing an additional 84,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Leidos by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after buying an additional 56,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,912,000 after purchasing an additional 42,358 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Leidos by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 841,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $121,223,000 after acquiring an additional 239,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Down 1.3 %

LDOS stock opened at $133.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.51 and a 200 day moving average of $153.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.23 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, 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, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

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.