Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Key Points

• Busey Bank reduced its Leidos stake by 97.4% in the third quarter, selling 95,661 shares and retaining 2,577 shares valued at approximately $314,000. Institutional investors collectively own 76.12% of Leidos.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on LDOS, with an average price target of $156.14. Recent targets range from $130 to $175, reflecting mixed expectations.
• Leidos reported quarterly EPS of $3.26 and revenue of $4.56 billion, exceeding estimates, while maintaining a $0.43 quarterly dividend and authorizing a buyback of up to 20 million shares.

Busey Bank cut its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 97.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,577 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 95,661 shares during the period. Busey Bank's holdings in Leidos were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Leidos by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $646,430,000 after acquiring an additional 161,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Leidos by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $289,193,000 after acquiring an additional 47,542 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 16.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,004,347 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $103,418,000 after acquiring an additional 144,716 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth approximately $77,623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LDOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price objective on Leidos in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $156.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $139.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $129.41 and its 200 day moving average is $142.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.86 and a 52-week high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Leidos announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc NYSE: LDOS is a technology, engineering and science company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work supports defense, intelligence, civil government, health and transportation missions, with offerings that include information technology modernization, systems integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, engineering and mission operations.

The company also provides health technology and scientific services, transportation management systems, aviation and security solutions, and support for complex government programs.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LDOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.