Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Stake Reduced by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 27.1%, selling 1,824 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 4,909 shares valued at approximately $662,000.
• Leidos recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.98% and a payout ratio of 16.10%.
• Leidos reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $4.25 billion, a 6.8% increase from the previous year.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,909 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,824 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Leidos by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in 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 valued at $315,250,000 after purchasing an additional 536,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Leidos by 130.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 711,437 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $96,001,000 after purchasing an additional 402,454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS traded up $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.25. The company had a trading volume of 101,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,230. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 7.87%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Baird R W cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.15.

About Leidos

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.