Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Cuts Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 159,978 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.32% of Leidos worth $61,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 576,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $93,891,000 after purchasing an additional 199,686 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Leidos by 92.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 5,175 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Leidos by 18.3% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Leidos during the third quarter worth approximately $311,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Leidos by 16.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,191 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE LDOS opened at $142.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.94. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. Analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LDOS. TD Cowen cut shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $191.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total value of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.