Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 64.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,680 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Leidos were worth $12,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LDOS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 510.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Leidos by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,032,000 after buying an additional 377,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $139.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $135.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.22. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Research analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.00.

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.