Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Makes New Investment in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 90.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.59. 517,472 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,544,119. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.05 and a 12 month high of $35.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 305.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. B. Riley raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $49,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,057,340.60. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total transaction of $188,280.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 293,897 shares in the company, valued at $9,222,487.86. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,196 shares of company stock valued at $2,962,300. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

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.