Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Stake Reduced by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings by 16.9%, selling 2,143 shares and bringing its total holdings to 10,503 shares valued at approximately $1.42 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Pacer Advisors Inc. and Massachusetts Financial Services, significantly increased their shares in Leidos, with Pacer Advisors boosting its holdings by 3,450%.
• Leidos reported earnings of $3.21 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.58, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 to be paid on September 30th.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,503 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,143 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $1,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 422.2% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 260.0% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Baird R W lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.46.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.68. The stock had a trading volume of 849,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,926. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one 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. The stock has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $161.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.17.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,892.85. This represents a 16.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock worth $1,852,525 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.