Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 201,493 Shares of Leonardo DRS, Inc. $DRS

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRS) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,536,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201,493 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.58% of Leonardo DRS worth $65,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRS. Quarry LP lifted its position in Leonardo DRS by 7,041.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 857 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter worth $31,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leonardo DRS news, EVP Sally Wallace sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $65,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,852,650. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jason Rinsky sold 3,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.81, for a total transaction of $177,009.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,080,245.61. The trade was a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 57,683 shares of company stock worth $2,650,769 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DRS opened at $38.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.10 and a 200 day moving average of $44.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.35. Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.43 and a 52 week high of $50.59.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) last announced its 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. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 8.52%.The business had revenue of $913.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $903.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leonardo DRS, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leonardo DRS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Leonardo DRS’s dividend payout ratio is 30.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Leonardo DRS 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.