BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 96,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,131,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Leonardo DRS by 148.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,032,000 after buying an additional 106,565 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 133.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,864 shares of the company's stock worth $4,850,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 19,962 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 6,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Leonardo DRS by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $1,471,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 328,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,738,810.80. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $112,786.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 137,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,387,564.68. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,354 shares of company stock worth $3,019,773 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Leonardo DRS Stock Performance
DRS stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.09. 67,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 710,728. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.73 and a 52-week high of $43.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $36.24 and its 200 day moving average is $34.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.01, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64.
Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.72 million. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.
Leonardo DRS announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have commented on DRS. Bank of America raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $49.00 price objective on Leonardo DRS and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Leonardo DRS
Leonardo DRS Company Profile
(
Free Report)
Leonardo DRS, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) segment, and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) segments. The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing.
Recommended Stories

Before you consider Leonardo DRS, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Leonardo DRS wasn't on the list.
While Leonardo DRS currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report