Northern Trust Corp Raises Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) by 301.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,798 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,854 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 874,352 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $229,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,215 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,140 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,999,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 45,789 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $11,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 338,256 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $87,294,000 after purchasing an additional 39,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Elbit Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT traded up $9.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $394.72. 218,854 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,370. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 67.47 and a beta of 0.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $392.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.08. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1-year low of $175.30 and a 1-year high of $426.40.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The aerospace company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 11.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 24th. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is currently 25.25%.

Elbit Systems Company 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.