American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has decreased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 25.3%, now owning 108,474 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• Recent insider sales include Director Gregory R. Dahlberg selling 952 shares and Director Gary Stephen May selling 2,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their positions of 4.32% and 16.48%, respectively.
• Leidos announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a payment date set for September 30th, representing a 0.9% dividend yield.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,474 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 36,704 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.08% of Leidos worth $14,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,426 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 131,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $17,772,000 after purchasing an additional 49,686 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 125,870 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $16,957,000 after purchasing an additional 66,124 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,020 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $253,262,000 after purchasing an additional 170,263 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth $549,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.88. 671,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 895,447. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.39, for a total transaction of $1,327,511.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,481 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,983.59. This represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,852,525. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.46.

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.