VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $1.92 Million in Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems invested approximately $1.92 million in Leonardo DRS, acquiring 41,300 shares in the second quarter, indicating growing interest from institutional investors.
• In recent insider activity, Director Eric Salzman and COO John Baylouny collectively sold over 15,800 shares of the company, reflecting a decrease in their respective holdings.
• Analysts have varying views on Leonardo DRS, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Hold, and updated price targets averaging $46.75.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 41,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,920,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Rice Partnership LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Leonardo DRS news, Director Eric Salzman sold 4,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.17, for a total value of $181,271.51. Following the sale, the director owned 11,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $486,629.40. This trade represents a 27.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 11,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $477,127.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $4,783,308.64. The trade was a 9.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,039 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,587 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DRS. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Leonardo DRS in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leonardo DRS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research report on Monday, August 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

Shares of DRS stock opened at $40.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.11. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a one year low of $27.87 and a one year high of $49.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $42.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.56.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The business had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Leonardo DRS has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.060-1.110 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

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.

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