Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 214.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Leonardo DRS worth $4,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 183.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,457,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236,661 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,920,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Leonardo DRS by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,067,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,495,000 after buying an additional 498,979 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 261.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 621,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,081,000 after acquiring an additional 449,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,934,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,377,000 after buying an additional 263,002 shares during the period. 18.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Leonardo DRS

In related news, EVP Sally Wallace sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $274,312.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,454.40. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,695,279.25. This represents a 19.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 144,360 shares of company stock worth $4,849,137. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

Leonardo DRS stock opened at $34.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.88 and a 12-month high of $37.99.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last announced its earnings results 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. 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. Equities analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised 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 report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Leonardo DRS from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Leonardo DRS from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.33.

Leonardo DRS Company 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.