Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 435.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Leidos were worth $67,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.87.

Leidos Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE LDOS opened at $138.62 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $202.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

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.