Jennison Associates LLC Takes Position in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 150,909 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,135,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESLT. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $1,493,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 709.3% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 88,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $50,948,000 after purchasing an additional 77,192 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 126,864 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,291,000 after purchasing an additional 33,235 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 8.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 1.4% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ ESLT opened at $741.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a PE ratio of 60.04, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.17. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $427.08 and a 12 month high of $1,016.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $792.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $789.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.89. The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Elbit Systems from $950.00 to $880.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $845.00 price target on Elbit Systems in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $803.75.

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.