L3Harris Technologies Inc (NYSE:LHX) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 17 analysts (12 buys, 4 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $349.55 and several firms raising targets (Citigroup to $418).
• Latest quarter: EPS $2.86 beat estimates by $0.10 while revenue of $5.65B slightly missed expectations; analysts forecast FY EPS of 11.12.
• The quarterly dividend was raised to $1.25 ($5.00 annual, ~1.4% yield), while insiders sold about 19,025 shares (~$6.8M) recently and insider ownership is only ~0.68% versus ~84.8% institutional ownership.

Shares of L3Harris Technologies Inc (NYSE:LHX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $349.5455.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LHX shares. Argus raised shares of L3Harris Technologies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of L3Harris Technologies from $389.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of L3Harris Technologies in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of L3Harris Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of L3Harris Technologies from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

L3Harris Technologies Stock Performance

L3Harris Technologies stock opened at $355.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average is $354.98 and its 200 day moving average is $320.74. L3Harris Technologies has a 1-year low of $208.11 and a 1-year high of $379.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.76 billion. L3Harris Technologies had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.47 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that L3Harris Technologies will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

L3Harris Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from L3Harris Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. L3Harris Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 58.62%.

Insider Transactions at L3Harris Technologies

In related news, insider Samir Mehta sold 5,528 shares of L3Harris Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.32, for a total transaction of $2,047,128.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,201.92. This trade represents a 41.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Melanie Rakita sold 2,378 shares of L3Harris Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.45, for a total transaction of $811,968.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,958.90. The trade was a 32.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,025 shares of company stock valued at $6,824,370. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On L3Harris Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LHX. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in L3Harris Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in L3Harris Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in L3Harris Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in L3Harris Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in L3Harris Technologies by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 97 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

L3Harris Technologies Company Profile

L3Harris Technologies NYSE: LHX is an American aerospace and defense company formed in 2019 through the combination of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of technology solutions for government and commercial customers, with a particular emphasis on defense, intelligence and public safety applications.

The company's offerings span communications systems, avionics, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors, space systems and mission integration.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.