Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 9.3%, owning approximately 0.17% of the company worth $30.3 million after selling 23,154 shares.
• Leidos reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.21 EPS, surpassing estimates by $0.58, with revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an upcoming ex-dividend date of September 15th, and a dividend yield of 0.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,616 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 23,154 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Leidos worth $30,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 9.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.9% in the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,134 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 1.4% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 7,085 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 9.2% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.46.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $177.68 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $161.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.12. The firm has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.62 and a 1 year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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%.

Leidos 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.

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