Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000. Leidos comprises 3.0% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDOS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Leidos by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,133,000 after buying an additional 522,764 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,216,000 after buying an additional 405,256 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Leidos by 435.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,032,000 after buying an additional 377,756 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Leidos by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after buying an additional 330,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Leidos during the 4th quarter valued at $40,402,000. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leidos Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:LDOS opened at $133.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.31.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Analysts predict that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LDOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Leidos from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. William Blair lowered shares of Leidos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.