Insider Selling: Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Director Sells 1,000 Shares

Key Points

• Leidos director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares at an average price of $140.85, totaling $140,850 and reducing his ownership by 8.93% to 10,204 shares.
• Leidos shares fell 4.0% to $133.65. Despite the decline, the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations and issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $12.20–$12.50.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share and authorized a 20 million-share buyback; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $162.93.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,437,233.40. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Leidos Stock Down 4.0%

LDOS traded down $5.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.65. The company had a trading volume of 988,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,852. The company has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $121.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.86 and a 52 week high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.200-12.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to repurchase 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Leidos by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $124.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $210.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.93.

About Leidos

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.

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