Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its Leidos stake by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 357,513 shares worth about $64.5 million.
• Leidos beat Wall Street’s latest quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.13 versus estimates of $2.88 and revenue of $4.40 billion versus $4.28 billion expected. The company also said it expects FY 2026 EPS of $12.10 to $12.50.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $191.25, though several firms recently cut price targets. Leidos also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, payable June 30.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,513 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,018 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.28% of Leidos worth $64,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Leidos by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $232.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.25.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,345,686.75. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total transaction of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares in the company, valued at $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Leidos Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $127.95 on Tuesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.20 and a 52-week high of $205.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.19 and a 200 day moving average of $170.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.51.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 15.75%.

Leidos Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.

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