Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Has $8.33 Million Holdings in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 31.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,435 shares during the quarter. Leonardo DRS accounts for 1.5% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Leonardo DRS were worth $8,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Leonardo DRS by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 921,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,995,000 after purchasing an additional 384,522 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Leonardo DRS by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 736,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,809,000 after purchasing an additional 179,224 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Leonardo DRS by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,239,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,326 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Leonardo DRS in the 4th quarter valued at $4,304,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Leonardo DRS by 1,133.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 106,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leonardo DRS news, COO John Baylouny sold 3,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.81, for a total value of $122,844.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 74,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,603,962.05. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eric Salzman sold 3,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total value of $120,269.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,732.58. The trade was a 20.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,770 shares of company stock valued at $2,226,047. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRS shares. Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

Shares of DRS opened at $31.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, 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 quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.11. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.88 and a 52-week high of $37.99.

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

Leonardo DRS announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.57%.

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.