Ethic Inc. Buys 8,286 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 492.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,968 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,286 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 53.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $93,891,000 after buying an additional 199,686 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,086 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Leidos by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,931 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $736,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $2.32 on Friday, hitting $159.08. 1,006,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,212,312. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.07. 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 cap of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Leidos's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of Leidos 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.69.

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.