Royal Bank of Canada Sells 145,943 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by 56.3%, now holding approximately 113,078 shares valued at $15.26 million.
• Leidos recently reported earnings of $3.21 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $4.25 billion for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 15.12%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 56.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 145,943 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.09% of Leidos worth $15,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the first quarter worth about $267,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 47.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 263.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 2,940.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 16.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,679 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,186 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Leidos from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.31.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $180.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.62 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $171.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.48. The company has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.71.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, equities 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leidos's payout ratio is 15.12%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,975 shares of company stock worth $4,078,740. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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