Ballentine Partners LLC Buys Shares of 573 Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT)

Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 573 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESLT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Elbit Systems by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 874,352 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $229,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,215 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 338,256 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $87,294,000 after buying an additional 39,095 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 177.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 227,102 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $59,207,000 after buying an additional 145,324 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 71,799 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $18,779,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Elbit Systems by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,474 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $16,340,000 after purchasing an additional 12,891 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd.

Elbit Systems Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of ESLT traded up $2.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $432.97. 83,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,577. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $177.85 and a 1 year high of $476.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $422.46 and its 200-day moving average is $372.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.95 and a beta of 0.33.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The aerospace company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.27. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is presently 25.38%.

Elbit Systems Profile

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops and supplies a portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems and products for the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation applications primarily in Israel. The company operates through Aerospace, C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, Land, and Elbit Systems of America segments.