Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,355 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 11,410 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.11% of Leidos worth $21,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Stock Up 1.2 %

LDOS stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $147.51. 1,146,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,214,657. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.62 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $136.32 and its 200 day moving average is $150.28. The firm has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.23.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Leidos

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.