Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 2,508 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 41.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,572 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Leidos were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Leidos by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Leidos by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 330,623 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Baird R W cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total transaction of $193,187.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE LDOS traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $147.92. 764,083 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,697. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.10%.

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.