Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $267,000 Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $1,628,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 113.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 311,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,727,000 after purchasing an additional 165,356 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,990,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,978,000 after acquiring an additional 195,615 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,164,826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,824,000 after acquiring an additional 229,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 287,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $30,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 65,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,403. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $30,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,323,403. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.76, for a total value of $131,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 423,098 shares in the company, valued at $7,937,318.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,220 shares of company stock valued at $3,734,576 in the last quarter. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS stock opened at $21.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.69 and a beta of 1.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.98 and a 52 week high of $22.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.88 and a 200-day moving average of $19.20.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $277.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.48 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 3.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on KTOS shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.