iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 134.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,317 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 8,773 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in Leidos by 36.4% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 23,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $1,979,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Leidos in the third quarter worth about $4,622,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leidos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $133.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.37 and a 200-day moving average of $154.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.