Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 14,950 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 8.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 160,840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 14,950 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Leidos were worth $26,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, Director Noel B. Geer purchased 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $161.13 per share, for a total transaction of $322,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $322,260. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $163.97 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.52 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.