Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 102,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,315 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $85,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elbit Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $1,493,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 709.3% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 88,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $50,948,000 after purchasing an additional 77,192 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 126,864 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,291,000 after buying an additional 33,235 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,202,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT opened at $754.85 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $791.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $792.65. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12-month low of $432.85 and a 12-month high of $1,016.06. The firm has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.12, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.17. 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 (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 7.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is 26.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Elbit Systems

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.