QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. has increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) by 31.7%, now owning 90,038 shares valued at approximately $14.2 million.
• Insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos, indicating a 32.62% decrease in their ownership, while other insiders collectively sold 22,975 shares valued at over $4 million in the last three months.
• Leidos recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equating to a 0.8% yield, and reported stronger-than-expected earnings of $3.21 per share for the quarter ending August 5.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 31.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,038 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 21,657 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Leidos worth $14,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 260.0% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LDOS. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Leidos in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on shares of Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.31.

Leidos Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $195.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.62 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.93.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.12%.

Leidos Company 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.

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