Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 841,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 239,846 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.63% of Leidos worth $121,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in shares of Leidos by 36.4% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Leidos by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,837 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $136,491,000 after acquiring an additional 283,558 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Leidos by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,165 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 9,710 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel B. Geer acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LDOS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.27.

Leidos Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE LDOS traded up $1.57 on Monday, hitting $132.22. 1,752,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,481. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.98 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

Leidos Company 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.