Martin Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Martin Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 36,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000. Leidos accounts for about 1.5% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Leidos during the first quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 471.4% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. grew its holdings in Leidos by 66.2% in the second quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 216 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $356,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,892.85. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,449 shares of company stock worth $2,751,229 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Leidos in a report on Tuesday. Argus upped their price target on Leidos from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Leidos from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.23.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $196.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.69. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.62 and a 52 week high of $205.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.49. 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 (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.44. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.02% and a net margin of 8.11%.The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.450-11.75 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

About Leidos

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.