Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,298 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 8,751 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.07% of Leidos worth $14,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $3.64 on Thursday, reaching $156.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,170,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,212,052. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $141.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LDOS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.69.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,121,137.25. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.