Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Grows Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,619,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 69,165 shares during the period. Elbit Systems comprises approximately 8.1% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $1,351,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESLT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 998,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $573,131,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 618,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $356,345,000 after acquiring an additional 18,289 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 397,089 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $332,985,000 after purchasing an additional 32,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ESLT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Elbit Systems from $950.00 to $880.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $845.00 target price on Elbit Systems in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $803.75.

Elbit Systems Stock Up 2.6%

ESLT stock opened at $774.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $790.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $794.04. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $432.85 and a 12 month high of $1,016.06. The company has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.72, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.17.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 7.14%. As a group, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is 26.88%.

Elbit Systems 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.