Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,116,164 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 317,305 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.06% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $82,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $461,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 86,567 shares during the period. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $448,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 121.3% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 16,650 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.24. 992,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,570,491. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.05 and a 52 week high of $35.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 302.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $49,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 61,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,340.60. This trade represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,637 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.14, for a total transaction of $234,408.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at $331,515.10. This represents a 41.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,668 shares of company stock worth $2,377,610 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company 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.