Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,902 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 605,382 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,902 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Leidos worth $81,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Leidos by 510.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $144,011,000 after acquiring an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 35.0% in the fourth 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 period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Leidos by 151.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on shares of Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised 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. Baird R W downgraded shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.46.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded down $1.29 on Tuesday, reaching $163.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,567. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.62 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.