Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT Stake Boosted by Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 34.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,550,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 397,049 shares during the period. Elbit Systems accounts for 5.8% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $893,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ESLT. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $950.00 price target on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $742.75.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 6.5%

ESLT stock opened at $854.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $415.90 and a 1 year high of $1,016.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $843.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $745.06. The firm has a market cap of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 69.15, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.14.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 16.15%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 26.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Elbit Systems news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $7,546,449.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,736 shares of company stock worth $61,883,726. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.