BlackRock Inc. Takes $212.88 Million Position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 4.99 million Leonardo DRS shares worth approximately $212.9 million during the second quarter, giving it a 1.87% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 18.76% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with Leonardo DRS carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $53.60; JPMorgan, Canaccord Genuity and others recently raised their targets or ratings.
• Leonardo DRS exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.35 in EPS on $913 million in revenue, with revenue up 10.1% year over year. The company also declared a $0.09 quarterly dividend, equal to a 0.9% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,989,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $212,883,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 1.87% of Leonardo DRS as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Leonardo DRS in the second quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,726,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the second quarter worth $21,437,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter worth $527,000. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Leonardo DRS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Leonardo DRS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Leonardo DRS from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Leonardo DRS to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sally Wallace sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $65,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,852,650. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jason Rinsky sold 3,864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.81, for a total transaction of $177,009.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,080,245.61. The trade was a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,683 shares of company stock worth $2,650,769. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leonardo DRS Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:DRS opened at $38.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.92. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.43 and a 52-week high of $50.59. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.35.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $913.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.27 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 8.52%.Leonardo DRS's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Leonardo DRS's payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS is a U.S.-based defense technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. The firm specializes in developing and integrating mission-critical systems for military and government customers, with a primary focus on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Its core offerings encompass advanced sensors, targeting systems, radars and electronic warfare solutions designed to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness across land, sea and air domains.

The company's portfolio includes naval combat management systems, unmanned vehicle sensors, power generation and distribution equipment, and training and simulation solutions.

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