Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 19,599 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 7.0% to a total of 300,055 shares, valued at approximately $40.49 million.
• Leidos reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.21, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.63, with revenues of $4.25 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which will be distributed to stockholders on September 30th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 300,055 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,599 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.23% of Leidos worth $40,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the first quarter worth about $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,841 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 437,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $63,026,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 2,940.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 7,526 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.39, for a total transaction of $1,327,511.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,983.59. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,478 shares of company stock worth $1,852,525. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.46.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS traded down $0.1780 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $181.5620. 477,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,807. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.62 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.