Insider Selling: Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) CEO Sells 25,514 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO Bezhalel Machlis sold 25,514 shares on April 9 at an average price of $887.40, totaling about $22.64 million, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Dividend increased to $1.00 per share quarterly (from $0.75), with an ex-dividend date of April 13 and payment on April 27, representing an annualized $4.00 and a ~0.4% yield.
• Q results beat expectations: Elbit reported EPS of $3.56 versus a $3.23 estimate and revenue of $2.15 billion versus $2.09 billion; the stock has a $41.3 billion market cap while analysts’ consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $550.33.

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) CEO Bezhalel Machlis sold 25,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $22,641,123.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ESLT stock opened at $928.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.16. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $816.30 and its 200 day moving average is $638.55.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 6.73%.The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is 19.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ESLT. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Elbit Systems in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $531.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $550.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Elbit Systems by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 990 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Elbit Systems by 875.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Elbit Systems by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $5,615,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company's stock.

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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