The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $8.73 Million Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $8,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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. UBS Group AG increased its position in Elbit Systems by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 126,864 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,291,000 after buying an additional 33,235 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Elbit Systems by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 998,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $573,131,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Elbit Systems by 8.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,084,000 after buying an additional 4,444 shares during the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESLT opened at $849.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.77, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.17. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $432.85 and a one year high of $1,016.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $797.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $804.64. 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 posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 16.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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