Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,446 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 15,244 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Leidos worth $50,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 55,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,735,000 after buying an additional 12,754 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 19,799 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 318.2% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,815 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 2,604 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $195.00 price objective on Leidos in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given 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 a consensus price target of $188.31.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS opened at $189.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $202.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.19.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Leidos’s payout ratio is currently 15.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $356,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,804,892.85. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. This trade represents a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% 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.