Vinva Investment Management Ltd Purchases 3,357 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Leidos were worth $10,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. FMR LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 27.8% in 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $40,402,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Leidos by 625.4% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 281,452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,546,000 after purchasing an additional 242,651 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LDOS. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $138.62 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.05 and its 200 day moving average is $154.74. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.