Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 1.7%, owning 934,519 shares worth approximately $126.1 million as of the latest filing.
• Leidos recently reported $3.21 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.63, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, set to be paid on September 30.
• Insider transactions included sales by key executives, with total shares sold in the past three months amounting to 22,975 shares worth over $4 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 934,519 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 16,331 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Leidos worth $126,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Talon Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 5,056.9% in the first quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,204 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 17,851 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 8.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,135 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,881,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.02. 541,385 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 639,716. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.31.

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.