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

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing 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 also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the third quarter worth $63,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 595.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of ESLT stock opened at $854.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $843.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $745.06. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $415.90 and a 12 month high of $1,016.06. The firm 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 company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.94 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $7,546,449.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Ariel sold 7,654 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $6,792,159.60. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,736 shares of company stock valued at $61,883,726. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elbit Systems Profile

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.