Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Buys Shares of 592,521 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 592,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,631,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.39% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KTOS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,719,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,301,000 after acquiring an additional 701,216 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,032,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,966,000 after purchasing an additional 233,051 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,883,000 after purchasing an additional 29,278 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,798,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $70,951,000 after purchasing an additional 304,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,694,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,792,000 after buying an additional 305,925 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $172,130.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 370,660 shares in the company, valued at $9,114,529.40. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 19,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $585,840.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 51,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,533,630. The trade was a 27.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,196 shares of company stock worth $3,144,160. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of KTOS opened at $30.68 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.05 and a fifty-two week high of $35.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 306.83 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.67.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.