Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Makes New $3.28 Million Investment in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000. Leidos accounts for approximately 3.0% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,032,000 after buying an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after buying an additional 330,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at $40,402,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LDOS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $133.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $139.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.31. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.