Erste Asset Management GmbH Increases Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 374.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,649 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 12,350 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Leidos were worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Leidos by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Leidos by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $123.30 on Wednesday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.20 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.53.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 8.15%.The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 15.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Leidos from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $185.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.50.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.