Bank of America Corp DE Buys Shares of 753,841 Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 753,841 Leidos shares worth approximately $77.6 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 76.12% of the company.
• Leidos reported quarterly earnings of $3.26 per share, beating estimates by $0.35, with revenue rising 7.2% year over year to $4.56 billion. The company also authorized a 20 million-share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $163.60, versus the stock’s recent price of $127.51.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 753,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $77,623,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.60% of Leidos at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,024,436,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 16,475.4% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131,706 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,488 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $636,097,000 after buying an additional 64,909 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $318,839,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Leidos by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $289,193,000 after buying an additional 47,542 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $127.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.82. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.56. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.86 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to repurchase 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.60.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc NYSE: LDOS is a technology, engineering and services company that supports government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. The company provides mission-critical solutions involving information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, systems integration, engineering and scientific research.

Its defense and intelligence activities include command-and-control systems, mission software, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions, logistics, aircraft and weapons systems support, and national security services.

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