Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires Shares of 43,215 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 43,215 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $6,226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 959.8% in the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 497.9% during the 4th quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 70,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,166,000 after purchasing an additional 58,763 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 1.0 %

LDOS stock traded up $1.40 on Tuesday, reaching $147.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,466. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.28. The firm has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.62 and a 12-month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.23.

About Leidos

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.