Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 526 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LDOS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Leidos by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 42,358 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Leidos by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,007,000 after buying an additional 53,307 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after buying an additional 691,575 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Leidos Stock Down 1.5 %

LDOS opened at $150.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $105.52 and a one year high of $202.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $170.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.78. The company has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.64.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,260. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.