Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS Stock Holdings Raised by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,376 shares during the period. Leidos comprises about 1.7% of Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $32,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Leidos by 2.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Leidos by 7.8% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brand Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Brand Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 130 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 related news, Director Noel Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,820,980.84. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Leidos from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Leidos from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.14.

Leidos Trading Up 4.9%

NYSE:LDOS traded up $5.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $119.17. 1,673,240 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,323,087. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.00 and a 200 day moving average of $129.77. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.86 and a 12 month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc is a technology, engineering and services company that provides solutions to government and commercial customers. The company operates primarily in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets, supporting customers with mission-critical systems, digital modernization, cybersecurity, data analytics and technical services.

Its offerings include defense and intelligence technologies, command-and-control systems, transportation and infrastructure solutions, health information technology, aviation and security services, and scientific and engineering support.