Van ECK Associates Corp Has $101.26 Million Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 601,633 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 134,037 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.45% of Leidos worth $101,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Leidos by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Leidos by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 51,115 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,701,000 after buying an additional 4,696 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 76.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 212,345 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,836,000 after acquiring an additional 91,891 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,172 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 5.3% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,133 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LDOS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.23.

Leidos Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of LDOS traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $186.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,006,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,536. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.21 and a 52 week high of $188.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $163.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current 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 is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Leidos's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.