Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments opened a new Leidos position, buying 33,455 shares worth about $4.08 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 76.12% of the company’s shares.
• Leidos reported quarterly EPS of $3.62, beating the $3.04 consensus, while revenue of $4.63 billion fell short of estimates but grew 3.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $151.50. Leidos raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,455 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $4,076,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Leidos by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,430,000 after buying an additional 161,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Leidos by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $289,193,000 after buying an additional 47,542 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $103,418,000 after buying an additional 144,716 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 30.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 567,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $88,273,000 after buying an additional 132,683 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LDOS. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS traded down $2.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.89. 841,853 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,757. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average price is $129.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.19. The company has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.55. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.86 and a 12-month high of $205.00.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.58. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Leidos declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buy back 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 often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos 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 in the company, valued at $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

About Leidos

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.

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