Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 64.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,616 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,680 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.06% of Leidos worth $12,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 959.8% in the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,818 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

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Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 925,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,687. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.95.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LDOS. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm's 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 owns 6,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.