Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 62,395 Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,301,964 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 62,395 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.49% of Leonardo DRS worth $42,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the third quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the third quarter worth $113,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS by 4.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 291,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,613 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS in the third quarter valued at $1,651,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 3rd quarter valued at $311,000. 18.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leonardo DRS Stock Down 7.8 %

DRS stock opened at $30.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average is $32.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.88 and a 1-year high of $37.99.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Leonardo DRS had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $981.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $942.18 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.57%.

Leonardo DRS declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In other news, SVP Pamela Morrow sold 8,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $290,765.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,281.40. This represents a 33.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $1,586,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 189,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,695,279.25. The trade was a 19.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,360 shares of company stock worth $4,848,926. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.