Virtus Advisers LLC Acquires New Shares in Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $947,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 369,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,157,000 after buying an additional 83,077 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 148,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after buying an additional 12,712 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leonardo DRS by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after buying an additional 7,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the 1st quarter worth $225,000. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 8,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.48, for a total transaction of $386,620.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,577,780.80. This represents a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Baylouny sold 36,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,665,630.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,591,606.45. This trade represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 69,228 shares of company stock valued at $3,171,794 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Leonardo DRS Stock Down 3.7%

Leonardo DRS stock opened at $41.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.35. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.43 and a 1-year high of $50.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.08. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 12.97%. The firm had revenue of $913.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Leonardo DRS’s payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised Leonardo DRS to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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 upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Leonardo DRS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.60.

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.