Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Holdings in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,297,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 271,541 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Leonardo DRS were worth $106,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,920,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 449,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Leonardo DRS by 3.4% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Leonardo DRS Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of DRS stock opened at $33.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.98. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.88 and a 52-week high of $37.99.

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

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

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.57%.

Insider Activity at Leonardo DRS

In related news, CEO William Lynn III sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Dippold sold 26,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $870,408.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,249,825.40. This trade represents a 27.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,360 shares of company stock valued at $4,848,926. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on DRS shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Leonardo DRS from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.