Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys New Shares in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 175 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 156.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $165,356,000 after acquiring an additional 691,575 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Leidos by 1,184.3% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after buying an additional 462,792 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 24,194.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,459,000 after buying an additional 375,495 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 76.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after buying an additional 303,775 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 138.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after acquiring an additional 300,486 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.16. The stock has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.30 and a 12 month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

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.