Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

Leidos Stock Down 0.9 %

Leidos stock opened at $133.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $139.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.29. The firm has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.23 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

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.