Meeder Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 65,811 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leidos by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Leidos from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $180.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Leidos Stock Down 0.4 %

LDOS stock opened at $158.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.72 and a twelve month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 17.31%.

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.