Zacks Investment Management Buys 7,919 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,919 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Leidos were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 454 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,738 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Leidos by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,197 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.23.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.59. 301,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,208,054. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $135.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.00. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.