Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,310 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,561 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Leidos were worth $2,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Leidos by 251.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Leidos stock traded up $3.86 on Wednesday, reaching $162.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,714,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,219. The company has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.34 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.88.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LDOS. Truist Financial increased their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.23.

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.