Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 35,868 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $5,167,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Leidos by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Leidos by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.87.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.61. 1,416,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,064,806. 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 $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $140.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.74. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.