Artemis Investment Management LLP Has $9.75 Million Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Artemis Investment Management LLP decreased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Leidos were worth $9,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,912,000 after acquiring an additional 42,358 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after acquiring an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Leidos by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,007,000 after purchasing an additional 53,307 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Leidos in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $155.19 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.10. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.73 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 18.22%.

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.