Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,682 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leonardo DRS were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the fourth quarter worth $3,791,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Leonardo DRS by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 155,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Leonardo DRS during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Leonardo DRS by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 5,613 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Leonardo DRS in the 4th quarter worth about $1,588,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ DRS opened at $34.35 on Wednesday. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.88 and a 1-year high of $37.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $981.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $942.18 million. Equities research analysts expect that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In other news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $1,586,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,695,279.25. The trade was a 19.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.90, for a total value of $112,575.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,498,854.60. The trade was a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,360 shares of company stock valued at $4,848,926. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Leonardo DRS 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.