JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,687 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 109,874 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $42,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $330,404,000 after acquiring an additional 628,236 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the third quarter valued at $172,673,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 27.3% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 471,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $210,967,000 after purchasing an additional 101,083 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Elbit Systems by 125.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,848,000 after purchasing an additional 92,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Elbit Systems by 44.3% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 253,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $128,573,000 after purchasing an additional 77,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESLT opened at $920.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a PE ratio of 81.05, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $767.63 and its 200 day moving average is $600.46. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $354.68 and a fifty-two week high of $1,016.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ESLT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.33.

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.