Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 881,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 312,225 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $143,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Leidos by 97.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 6,360 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Leidos by 138.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after acquiring an additional 300,486 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,245,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter worth approximately $792,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. This represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LDOS. Barclays increased their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.69.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $165.51 on Monday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.52 and a 12 month high of $202.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm 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 0.97%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

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.