4,972 Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Purchased by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,809 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $10,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 10.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 547,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $66,758,000 after acquiring an additional 51,342 shares during the period. StoneRidge PMG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth about $384,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $732,000. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 21,529 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth about $338,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:LDOS opened at $135.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.55. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.86 and a twelve month high of $205.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their target price on Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Leidos from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.71.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work spans defense, intelligence, civil government and health, with offerings in areas such as information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, engineering and mission software.

The company also develops and integrates systems and equipment for complex missions, including defense and aviation applications, and provides technology and services to support government health programs and healthcare organizations.

Leidos traces its history to Science Applications International Corporation, founded in 1969.