Axa S.A. Lowers Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

AXA S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,379 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 86,301 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $4,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LDOS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Leidos by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,225,784,000 after buying an additional 84,003 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 0.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Leidos by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,901,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $273,920,000 after purchasing an additional 155,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Leidos from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair cut Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Leidos from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,137.25. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,889 shares of company stock valued at $675,786 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $154.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 268,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,267. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.18.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.50. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

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.