Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 2,161 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 51.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LDOS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 156.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,133,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $165,356,000 after purchasing an additional 691,575 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Leidos by 1,184.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 501,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,213,000 after buying an additional 462,792 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 24,194.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,047 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,459,000 after acquiring an additional 375,495 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 76.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after acquiring an additional 303,775 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 138.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,840,000 after acquiring an additional 300,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LDOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.23.

Leidos Trading Down 4.4 %

Leidos stock opened at $160.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.56. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $104.63 and a one year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Leidos’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total value of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. This trade represents a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.