Systematic Financial Management LP Sells 30,113 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. by 46.1%, selling 30,113 shares and now holding 35,223 shares, valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• Elbit Systems reported earnings of $3.23 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.60 to $0.75 per share.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Elbit Systems, with Bank of America giving it a "buy" rating and others downgrading it to "hold," while the average price target remains at $500.00.

Systematic Financial Management LP cut its position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) by 46.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 30,113 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of Elbit Systems worth $13,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Elbit Systems Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Elbit Systems stock traded down $1.35 on Thursday, hitting $485.08. The company had a trading volume of 120,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,550. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.33. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a twelve month low of $188.53 and a twelve month high of $499.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $451.33 and a 200-day moving average of $404.19.

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

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 14th. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is presently 22.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts 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 report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Elbit Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Elbit Systems Company Profile

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.