Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,400 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 22,848 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Leidos worth $17,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 435.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Leidos by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 330,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $40,402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

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Leidos Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of LDOS stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $134.77. 1,512,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,132. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.37. The firm has a market cap of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Equities analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair cut shares of Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.07.

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.