Tradewinds LLC. Takes $298,000 Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in Leidos during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $134.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.37. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leidos news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value 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. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.