Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 17,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $572,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,934,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,377,000 after acquiring an additional 263,002 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 183.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,457,612 shares of the company's stock worth $111,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236,661 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,092 shares of the company's stock worth $51,505,000 after purchasing an additional 278,541 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,110 shares of the company's stock worth $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 166,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,301,964 shares of the company's stock worth $42,066,000 after purchasing an additional 62,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sally Wallace sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $274,312.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,811,454.40. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,354 shares of company stock worth $3,019,773. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.
Leonardo DRS Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:DRS traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.72. 805,407 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 715,410. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.41 and its 200-day moving average is $34.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a one year low of $22.73 and a one year high of $43.40.
Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $799.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Leonardo DRS declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Leonardo DRS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have commented on DRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $49.00 price target on Leonardo DRS and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on DRS
About Leonardo DRS
(
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.
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