Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. by selling 174,480 shares, maintaining ownership of approximately 15.3 million shares, valued at over $2 billion.
• Leidos reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.21, outperforming consensus estimates of $2.63, along with a revenue increase to $4.25 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which will be payable on September 30th, representing a dividend yield of 0.9%.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,275,915 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 174,480 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.91% of Leidos worth $2,061,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,134 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 7,085 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Trading Down 0.0%

LDOS stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,951. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.62 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 15.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price target on shares of Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.46.

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.