Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $4,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Leidos by 122.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 value of $144,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,241.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 3.0 %

Leidos stock opened at $198.42 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.27 and a 52 week high of $199.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.53.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.22%.

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.