Quarry LP Trims Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Quarry LP reduced its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 72.2%, holding 7,028 shares valued at $948,000 following the sale of 18,298 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes a sale of 2,000 shares by Director Gary Stephen May, decreasing his position by 16.48%, while other insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares valued at approximately $1.85 million in the last three months.
• Leidos announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, and reported a significant earnings beat with $3.21 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Quarry LP lowered its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 72.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,028 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 18,298 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP's holdings in Leidos were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 1st quarter worth approximately $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 437,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,026,000 after buying an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 2,940.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.39, for a total transaction of $1,327,511.14. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,481 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,983.59. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock worth $1,852,525 over the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Baird R W cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.46.

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.44. 613,668 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 824,593. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $169.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.81. The company has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.71.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.