Banco Santander S.A. Makes New $316,000 Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This 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 corporate insiders.

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Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $132.75. 1,291,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,591,347. The stock has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.22 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $140.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.17.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is 17.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.87.

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.