Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 53.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,876 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 28,062 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Leidos worth $8,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $18,976,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Leidos by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 245,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,591,000 after purchasing an additional 38,496 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 7.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,143,664 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $105,400,000 after purchasing an additional 82,447 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 134.9% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in Leidos by 15.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 95,319 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,785,000 after buying an additional 12,839 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total transaction of $341,725.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,210.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David G. Fubini sold 7,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.89, for a total value of $1,007,005.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,471.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.49, for a total value of $341,725.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,413,210.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Leidos from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.17.

Leidos Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of LDOS traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.67. 1,311,263 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,123,401. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 61.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.12 and a 200-day moving average of $115.38. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.58 and a 1-year high of $143.35.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 25.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. Analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is 65.52%.

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.