Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,430 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,495 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $4,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Leidos in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.07.

Insider Activity

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

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $133.95 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.51 and its 200 day moving average is $153.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.