The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 145,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 21,706 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $10,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KTOS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,673,000 after purchasing an additional 427,396 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 34,973 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,423,000 after buying an additional 174,305 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 714,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,206,000 after buying an additional 281,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $1,821,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 5.6%

KTOS stock opened at $49.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.09 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.13. The firm has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.47 and a beta of 1.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,447 shares in the company, valued at $3,733,414.71. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total transaction of $329,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 295,120 shares in the company, valued at $13,909,005.60. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 139,036 shares of company stock valued at $7,799,667 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.