Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,421,634 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,013 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of Leidos worth $256,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Leidos by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,805,218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,096,954,000 after purchasing an additional 78,534 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $636,097,000 after purchasing an additional 64,909 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Leidos by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,411,312 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $455,642,000 after purchasing an additional 145,826 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,926,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $364,059,000 after purchasing an additional 397,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $318,839,000. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,476 shares in the company, valued at $7,855,799.28. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $124.65 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.20 and a 52-week high of $205.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Leidos from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Leidos from $215.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Leidos from $205.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.