Ballentine Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 74,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,082,000 after buying an additional 11,576 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Leidos during the first quarter worth approximately $2,512,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its position in Leidos by 4.9% during the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 166,069 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,703 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth $1,900,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 97.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 6,360 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total value of $144,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $153,798.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,689.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.02, for a total transaction of $144,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,241.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $152.33 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $150.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.22 and a 1 year high of $159.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LDOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Leidos from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Leidos from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.08.

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.