Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,989 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 372 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Leidos were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Leidos by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Leidos by 82.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 51.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Leidos by 23.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $158.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.65. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.72 and a 52 week high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.23.

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.