Board of the Pension Protection Fund Grows Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• The Board of the Pension Protection Fund increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 200% in Q2, holding a total of 8,700 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million.
• Leidos recently reported earnings of $3.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting a 2.9% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Leidos declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, yielding 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 15.12%.

Board of the Pension Protection Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Leidos makes up 1.5% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings in Leidos were worth $1,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 684,272 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 worth $315,250,000 after purchasing an additional 536,452 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 130.3% in the first 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the first quarter worth about $45,665,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Leidos by 262.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 459,501 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $62,005,000 after purchasing an additional 332,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of LDOS opened at $187.89 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $182.98 and its 200 day moving average is $162.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.71. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. 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 issued 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LDOS. UBS Group raised their target price on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 target price on Leidos in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.31.

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.

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