Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 11.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,256 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $4,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 610,977 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $271,438,000 after buying an additional 158,689 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 226.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,006,000 after acquiring an additional 134,300 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Elbit Systems by 27.3% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 471,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $210,967,000 after acquiring an additional 101,083 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 74.2% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 175,533 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $78,084,000 after acquiring an additional 74,754 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Elbit Systems by 455.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,772,000 after purchasing an additional 74,370 shares in the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESLT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.33.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ ESLT opened at $676.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $636.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $536.08. The company has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a PE ratio of 68.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.22. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1-year low of $294.99 and a 1-year high of $740.67.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 5.91%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.87%.

Elbit Systems Company 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.