MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires New Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has acquired a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. worth approximately $316,000 by purchasing 2,345 shares in the first quarter.
• Leidos recently reported earnings of $3.21 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share to be paid on September 30th.
• Institutional investors now hold 76.12% of Leidos, with several large investors significantly increasing their stakes in the company during the first quarter.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,345 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 42.2% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in Leidos by 35.9% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 2,819 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter valued at $396,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Leidos by 327.9% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,829,000 after buying an additional 10,388 shares during the period. Finally, Talon Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 5,056.9% during the first quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,204 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 17,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.31.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,068 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,095.24. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,599,040.38. This represents a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $178.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.71. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.93 and a 200 day moving average of $153.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

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.

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