Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,450,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,003 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.58% of Leidos worth $2,225,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Leidos by 27.8% in the third 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. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Leidos by 435.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,032,000 after acquiring an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Leidos by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $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 fourth quarter valued at $40,402,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $135.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,876. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LDOS. StockNews.com downgraded Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six research 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, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.07.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Leidos 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.