Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. by 21.7%, selling 2,678 shares, and now owns 9,663 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Elbit Systems reported earnings of $3.23 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.57, and had a revenue of $1.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.75 per share, up from the previous $0.60, with a dividend yield of 0.6%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,663 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,678 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Elbit Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $262,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Elbit Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Elbit Systems by 38,268.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 7,271 shares during the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ ESLT opened at $482.04 on Friday. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 52 week low of $188.53 and a 52 week high of $499.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $457.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.96.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.66. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 14th. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops and supplies a portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems and products for the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation applications primarily in Israel. The company operates through Aerospace, C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, Land, and Elbit Systems of America segments.

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