Chicago Capital LLC Sells 4,358 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• Chicago Capital LLC cut its stake in Elbit Systems by 49.2% in Q4, selling 4,358 shares and now holding 4,506 shares valued at $2.603 million.
• Elbit Systems beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.56 vs. $3.23; revenue $2.15B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 (annual $4.00, yield 0.5%).
• Company insiders have sold heavily recently — two EVPs sold 8,504 and 7,654 shares on April 9, and insiders disposed of 69,736 shares worth about $61.9 million over the last 90 days.

Chicago Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,506 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,358 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC's holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 24.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT stock opened at $872.58 on Friday. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $369.00 and a 12 month high of $1,016.06. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $841.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $655.58. The stock has a market cap of $38.79 billion, a PE ratio of 76.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.16.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ESLT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $580.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $667.00.

Insider Activity at Elbit Systems

In other news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $7,546,449.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Haim Daniel Delmar sold 7,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $6,792,159.60. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 69,736 shares of company stock worth $61,883,726 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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