Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 2,647 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 30.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,999 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,647 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LDOS. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 29.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $315,250,000 after acquiring an additional 536,452 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Leidos by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,901,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $273,920,000 after acquiring an additional 155,481 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Leidos by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,706,757 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $245,867,000 after acquiring an additional 131,832 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,208,015 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $174,027,000 after acquiring an additional 23,153 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.43.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $174.84. 658,980 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,550. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $156.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 16.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.