Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings by 32%, selling over 100,000 shares, and now owns approximately 0.17% of the company valued at $29.6 million.
• Company insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares worth over $1.85 million in the past three months, indicating a significant reduction in their ownership positions.
• Leidos reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.21 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a quarterly dividend announcement of $0.40 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,832 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 103,609 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.17% of Leidos worth $29,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leidos by 3,450.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 704,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $95,012,000 after purchasing an additional 684,272 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 buying an additional 536,452 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 402,454 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the first quarter worth $45,665,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Leidos by 262.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 459,501 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $62,005,000 after acquiring an additional 332,882 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 $4,670,983.59. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,478 shares of company stock worth $1,852,525. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded down $0.1780 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $181.5620. 477,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,807. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $164.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Leidos had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 33.57%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Baird R W lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.46.

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.