Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 11,910 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,963 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 11,910 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Leidos were worth $13,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Leidos by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in Leidos by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 2,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.8% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $166.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $170.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.57.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

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.