Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 510.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $144,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,979,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,622,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 13,818 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LDOS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $134.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.37.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released 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 return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.