Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,901,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 155,481 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.43% of Leidos worth $273,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,225,784,000 after buying an additional 84,003 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,393,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $487,649,000 after purchasing an additional 27,410 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $266,419,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $145.44. The company had a trading volume of 525,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,044. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.62 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $135.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.94. The firm has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LDOS. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair lowered Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.23.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

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.