National Bank of Canada FI Trims Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 18,020 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.13% of Leidos worth $28,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,734,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 268,413 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $43,751,000 after purchasing an additional 23,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Leidos by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Stock Performance

LDOS traded down $2.84 on Monday, reaching $160.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,244,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,254. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.52 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.54.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.36.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $161.13 per share, with a total value of $322,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.