Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 2,840 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,986 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,840 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $11,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 984,861 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $501,042,000 after acquiring an additional 45,073 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $330,404,000 after purchasing an additional 628,236 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Elbit Systems by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 618,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,289 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Elbit Systems by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,121,000 after purchasing an additional 12,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 370,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $189,090,000 after purchasing an additional 33,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESLT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Elbit Systems from $580.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $667.00.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Elbit Systems stock opened at $872.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $841.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $655.58. The company has a market capitalization of $38.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.81, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12-month low of $369.00 and a 12-month high of $1,016.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Haim Daniel Delmar sold 7,654 shares of the business’s 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bezhalel Machlis sold 25,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 69,736 shares of company stock worth $61,883,726 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% 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.