Navellier & Associates Inc. Trims Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Navellier & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Elbit Systems comprises approximately 0.9% of Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $8,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Elbit Systems by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 7,889 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 2.9% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 18.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elbit Systems news, CEO Bezhalel Machlis sold 25,514 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $22,641,123.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $6,792,159.60. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,736 shares of company stock worth $61,883,726. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESLT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Elbit Systems from $580.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $667.00.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESLT opened at $851.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $37.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $872.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $680.97. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 52-week low of $369.60 and a 52-week high of $1,016.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This is an increase from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 29.31%.

Elbit Systems Company 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.