Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 147,120 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.13% of Leidos worth $27,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 471.4% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Leidos during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 66.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 216 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. The trade was a 32.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LDOS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.23.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $190.25 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $205.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $190.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.44. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

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.