Man Group plc Invests $3.33 Million in Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 78,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,332,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at approximately $212,883,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter worth $37,481,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 107.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,118,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,108 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 152.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,776,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071,708 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Leonardo DRS by 528.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,870 shares during the period. 18.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Dippold sold 8,318 shares of Leonardo DRS stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.48, for a total transaction of $386,620.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $2,577,780.80. The trade was a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Baylouny sold 36,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total transaction of $1,665,630.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,591,606.45. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 57,683 shares of company stock worth $2,650,769 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Leonardo DRS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Leonardo DRS from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Leonardo DRS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leonardo DRS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.60.

Leonardo DRS Price Performance

DRS opened at $38.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.96 and a 200-day moving average of $44.19. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.35. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.43 and a 1-year high of $50.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $913.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.27 million. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 8.52%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is 30.25%.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS is a U.S.-based defense technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. The firm specializes in developing and integrating mission-critical systems for military and government customers, with a primary focus on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Its core offerings encompass advanced sensors, targeting systems, radars and electronic warfare solutions designed to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness across land, sea and air domains.

The company’s portfolio includes naval combat management systems, unmanned vehicle sensors, power generation and distribution equipment, and training and simulation solutions.