Howard Capital Management Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,460 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 210,803 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LDOS. Davis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth approximately $614,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the first quarter valued at $224,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $188,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 261,686 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $35,312,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 263.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.46.

Leidos Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.12. 1,107,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,652. The firm has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.63. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.62 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.10%.

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.