Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 86.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $165.40 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.94. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.52 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.