Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 3,450.0%, owning approximately $95.01 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Leidos reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, outperforming analyst expectations and showing a 6.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.98% and a payout ratio of 16.10%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 3,450.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 704,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 684,272 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Leidos worth $95,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,225,784,000 after acquiring an additional 84,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $487,649,000 after acquiring an additional 27,410 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Leidos by 29.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $315,250,000 after acquiring an additional 536,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Leidos by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,901,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $273,920,000 after acquiring an additional 155,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.15.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.86. 161,520 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,407,576. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $155.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.64.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 32.62%. Leidos's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total value of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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.