Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 330,623 Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) by 151.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 548,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 330,623 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.41% of Leidos worth $79,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,800,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $945,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,066 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leidos by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,365,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,912,000 after buying an additional 42,358 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Leidos by 27.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Leidos by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,153,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $351,007,000 after buying an additional 53,307 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Leidos

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

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LDOS opened at $138.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $139.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.62.

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

Leidos Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Leidos’s dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leidos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.87.

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.