WFA of San Diego LLC Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 56.7% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the first quarter valued at $211,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 56.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,897 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.71% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $105.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.84, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.76. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.58 and a 12 month high of $110.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.27% and a net margin of 0.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 138.46%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total transaction of $217,402.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,085,957.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.20, for a total value of $95,872.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,030,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 2,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total value of $217,402.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,085,957.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Leidos in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Leidos from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Leidos from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Argus raised Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet cut Leidos from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.36.

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. It operates through three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.