Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 270,154 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. $LDOS

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 153,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 270,154 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $18,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 5,620.0% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 286 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 273.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LDOS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Monday, August 17th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $152.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.14.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS opened at $136.07 on Friday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.86 and a 52-week high of $205.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.04%.

Leidos declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to repurchase 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,233.40. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leidos Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc (NYSE: LDOS) is a technology, engineering and science company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work supports defense, intelligence, civil government, health and transportation missions, with offerings that include information technology modernization, systems integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, engineering and mission operations.

The company also provides health technology and scientific services, transportation management systems, aviation and security solutions, and support for complex government programs.