Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Trims Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,865 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 159,978 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.32% of Leidos worth $61,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 959.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 497.9% in the fourth quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 70,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $10,166,000 after buying an additional 58,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

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

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $146.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 264,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,341. The business's 50-day moving average price is $136.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.28. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

Leidos Company 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.