Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 79.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,554 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 18,040 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Leidos were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.87.

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Leidos Stock Performance

Leidos stock opened at $133.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.22 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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