Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 40,280 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 802,742 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40,280 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.62% of Leidos worth $126,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth about $277,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 216 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 13,852 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 16,699 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063 shares during the period. Finally, Frederick Financial Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leidos during the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $195.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.62. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $205.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.61 and its 200 day moving average is $168.89.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.44. Leidos had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 33.02%. The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 15.12%.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total value of $168,913.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total transaction of $2,226,215.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. The trade was a 32.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,449 shares of company stock worth $2,751,229 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.25.

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.