California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,979 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.16% of Leidos worth $28,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Leidos by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Leidos by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 40,592 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter valued at $11,775,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS traded down $1.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $144.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,825,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,706. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.68. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.22 and a twelve month high of $155.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.36. Leidos had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 25.66%. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Leidos from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Leidos from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Leidos from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.69.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other news, insider Roy E. Stevens sold 875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.67, for a total value of $131,836.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,651,929.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos 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.