6,025 Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has acquired a new stake in Leidos Holdings by purchasing 6,025 shares valued at approximately $813,000, as reported in its latest 13F filing.
• Several hedge funds, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Massachusetts Financial Services, have also increased their holdings in Leidos, indicating strong institutional interest in the company with over 76% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Leidos recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an upcoming payment date on September 30th, representing an annualized payout of $1.60 and a yield of 0.9%.

Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 422.2% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Leidos by 260.0% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on shares of Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $356,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,892.85. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,095.24. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock worth $1,852,525 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $180.55. 197,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,092. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.54. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.65. 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 data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during 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%. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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

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.