Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter, holding 171,330 shares worth approximately $23.12 million.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Leidos, with Pacer Advisors Inc. growing its stake by 3,450% to 704,106 shares valued at $95 million.
• Leidos recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which equates to an annual dividend yield of 0.9% and reflects a dividend payout ratio of 15.12%.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 171,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,166 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.13% of Leidos worth $23,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 target price on Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.46.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $0.1320 on Monday, hitting $181.6080. 265,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,351,269. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.55. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.39, for a total transaction of $1,327,511.14. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,670,983.59. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,852,525. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.