Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Invests $9.66 Million in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Aware Super Pty Ltd invested approximately $9.66 million in Leidos Holdings, acquiring 61,258 shares during the second quarter.
• Leidos reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the most recent quarter, beating estimates and signaling a revenue increase of 2.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 15.12%.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 61,258 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $9,664,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 3,450.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 704,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $95,012,000 after acquiring an additional 684,272 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $315,250,000 after purchasing an additional 536,452 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 130.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 711,437 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $96,001,000 after purchasing an additional 402,454 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth about $45,665,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 262.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 459,501 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $62,005,000 after buying an additional 332,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $186.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.01 and a 200 day moving average of $162.88. The firm has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.71. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LDOS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 price target on Leidos in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.31.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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