58,873 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Acquired by Howard Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management acquired 58,873 Leidos shares worth approximately $7.17 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.12% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Leidos has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.14, with several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Leidos exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.26 in earnings per share and $4.56 billion in revenue. The company also pays a $0.43 quarterly dividend and authorized a buyback of up to 20 million shares.

Howard Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 58,873 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $7,173,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 19.1% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 591.7% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,999 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 10.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,788 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at approximately $450,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Leidos from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.14.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $124.84. 1,246,971 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,802. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.86 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock's 50-day moving average is $130.47 and its 200-day moving average is $128.11.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.36 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.04%.

Leidos announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total value of $1,406,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.

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