HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 24,195 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 20.8%, selling 24,195 shares, and now holds 92,341 shares valued at approximately $12.46 million.
• Leidos reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.63, alongside a revenue of $4.25 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, set to be paid on September 30th, yielding 0.9% annually.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,341 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 24,195 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Leidos worth $12,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3,450.0% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.8% in the 1st 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. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 130.3% in 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter worth about $45,665,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 262.9% in the 1st 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.

Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $177.68 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.62 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The company has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $161.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.17.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 15.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on shares of Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.39, for a total value of $1,327,511.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,983.59. This represents a 22.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 value of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,852,525 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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