Advisors Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,937 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,941 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,937 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $3,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Leidos by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth $40,402,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Leidos by 625.4% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 281,452 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $40,546,000 after purchasing an additional 242,651 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given 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 target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.17. 1,340,945 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,085,214. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.23 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Leidos's payout ratio is 17.32%.

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.