Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 247,770 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 27,527 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $35,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Leidos by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Leidos by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $1,979,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 959.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,374 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 99.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 13,818 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, 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 sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % 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 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 value of $279,278.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LDOS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair downgraded Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $132.93 on Tuesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.88.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

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

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.