Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $11.33 Million Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,504 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,413 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.05% of Leidos worth $11,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Leidos by 1,460.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Leidos in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.00. 1,844,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,578. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.57. The company has a market cap of $20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.52 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.22%.

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.