Seizert Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Key Points

• Seizert Capital Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in Leidos Holdings, purchasing 122,731 shares valued at approximately $16.56 million, increasing its ownership to 0.10% of the company.
• Analyst ratings for Leidos are mixed, with seven buy ratings and seven hold ratings, while Truist Financial has adjusted its price target down from $165 to $155, and Wells Fargo has raised its target from $173 to $200.
• Leidos recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing a 0.99% yield, while reporting earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a revenue growth of 6.8% year-over-year.

Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 122,731 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $16,561,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Leidos at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $487,649,000 after acquiring an additional 27,410 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,336,222 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $315,250,000 after acquiring an additional 536,452 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,901,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $273,920,000 after acquiring an additional 155,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,706,757 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $245,867,000 after acquiring an additional 131,832 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on Leidos and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.15.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.55, for a total value of $193,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 784,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,448. 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 1.42, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.51.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Leidos's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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.