Sciencast Management LP Buys Shares of 5,048 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,048 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS traded down $0.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $135.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,002,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,566. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.