Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 510.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.75% of Leidos worth $144,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 20.4% in the fourth 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 period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Leidos by 3.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Leidos by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $134.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos 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.