Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 9,954 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,954 shares during the quarter. Leidos makes up 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Leidos were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Leidos by 51.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 837,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,491,000 after purchasing an additional 283,558 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Leidos during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,512,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Leidos by 188.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 97.2% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after buying an additional 6,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 76.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 698,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,942,000 after buying an additional 303,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In related news, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total transaction of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,594.97. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Leidos Stock Down 13.6 %

Shares of Leidos stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $169.15 and its 200 day moving average is $155.16. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.30 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LDOS. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Leidos from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.23.

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.