Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Leidos stake by 10,281.2% in the second quarter, acquiring 19.84 million shares to own approximately 15.96% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 76.12% of Leidos.
• Leidos exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.26 in EPS and $4.56 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.2% year over year. The company also authorized a repurchase of up to 20 million shares and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.93 versus the reported share price of $128.92. Two directors recently sold shares, while insider ownership stands at 0.77%.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 10,281.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,029,621 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,836,680 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 15.96% of Leidos worth $2,062,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LDOS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth about $1,024,436,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Leidos by 16,475.4% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131,706 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $318,839,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Leidos by 998.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,097,724 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $170,718,000 after purchasing an additional 997,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,623,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $128.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $125.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.33. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.86 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%.Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LDOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $162.93.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc NYSE: LDOS is a technology, engineering and services company that supports government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. The company provides mission-critical solutions involving information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, systems integration, engineering and scientific research.

Its defense and intelligence activities include command-and-control systems, mission software, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions, logistics, aircraft and weapons systems support, and national security services.

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