Jonathan Ariel Sells 7,654 Shares of Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) Stock

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) EVP Jonathan Ariel sold 7,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $6,792,159.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 0.3%

ESLT opened at $925.24 on Friday. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a twelve month low of $369.00 and a twelve month high of $1,016.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $820.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $642.51. The company has a market cap of $41.13 billion, a PE ratio of 81.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.16.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 296.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,553,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $824,000. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $330,404,000 after buying an additional 628,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

More Elbit Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Elbit Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target upgrade: an outlet reported an 11.39% increase to a $622.43 target, which may support valuation expectations and investor confidence despite the target remaining below the current share price. Elbit Systems price target increased
• Neutral Sentiment: March short-interest fell ~21.6% to 209,380 shares (short-interest ratio ~1.0 days; ~0.5% of shares short). Lower short positions reduce a near-term short-squeeze risk and indicate fewer explicit bearish bets, a modestly constructive technical datapoint.
• Neutral Sentiment: April short-interest entry shows an apparent data/reporting anomaly (reports 0 shares and NaN change). Treat that April figure as unreliable until corrected by the data provider.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling on April 9: multiple senior executives, including CEO Bezhalel Machlis (25,514 shares, ~ $22.6M at ~$887.40) and several EVPs (individual sales of ~5.9k–8.5k shares each), disclosed open-market sales. Significant insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment unless they are pre‑planned (10b5‑1) or explained as routine diversification. See the CEO SEC filing for details. CEO sale SEC filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.33.

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.