New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Leidos were worth $11,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $913,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Leidos by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 67,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,665,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Leidos by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,006,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % 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 1.3 %

Leidos stock opened at $128.43 on Tuesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.22 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.88 and a 200 day moving average of $156.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $199.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. William Blair lowered Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.27.

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.