Foster & Motley Inc. Raises Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth about $49,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $128.77 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.58 and a twelve month high of $131.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $127.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 90.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LDOS. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Leidos from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Leidos from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Leidos from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.42.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total transaction of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.