Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,883 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 13,542 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $30,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Elbit Systems by 232.6% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Elbit Systems by 8.6% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ESLT shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of ESLT stock opened at $464.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $446.50 and its 200 day moving average is $395.36. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $188.53 and a 12 month high of $494.32.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 14th. This is an increase from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.38%.

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.