Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 39,182 Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,645,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings 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 worth $67,032,000 after buying an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings 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 worth $79,053,000 after buying an additional 330,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $40,402,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $138.61 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s 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 firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LDOS. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair downgraded shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos 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.