Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 32,980 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 615,124 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 32,980 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $355,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 296.0% during the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 53,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,309,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elbit Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $1,493,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 709.3% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 88,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $50,948,000 after acquiring an additional 77,192 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Elbit Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,791,000. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Elbit Systems

In other news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $7,546,449.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Haim Daniel Delmar sold 7,654 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $6,792,159.60. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,736 shares of company stock valued at $61,883,726. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 6.5%

ESLT stock opened at $854.06 on Friday. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $415.90 and a fifty-two week high of $1,016.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.15, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $843.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $745.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.89. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 7.14%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $950.00 price target on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elbit Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $742.75.

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based defense electronics company that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of systems for military, homeland security and commercial aviation customers. The company focuses on integrated, platform-level solutions that combine sensors, communications, command-and-control software and weapons integration to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), force protection and mission management.

Its product and service portfolio spans unmanned aircraft systems, electro-optic and signal intelligence systems, electronic warfare and communications equipment, avionics and mission systems for military and commercial aircraft, and land and naval systems.