National Bank of Canada FI Sells 39 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Elbit Systems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 874,352 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $229,268,000 after acquiring an additional 10,215 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 99.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,158,000 after purchasing an additional 18,614 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Elbit Systems by 50.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 10,531 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESLT opened at $406.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 69.44 and a beta of 0.32. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 52-week low of $175.30 and a 52-week high of $420.00.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The aerospace company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 4.00%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is an increase from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.72%.

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.