Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Invests $461,000 in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• Lester Murray Antman, operating under SimplyRich, has invested $461,000 in Elbit Systems Ltd., acquiring 1,026 shares in the second quarter.
• Institutional investors including Meitav Investment House Ltd. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have significantly increased their stakes in Elbit Systems, with the company now having 17.88% of its stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Elbit Systems plans to pay out a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, increasing from its previous dividend of $0.60, representing a yield of 0.6% based on an annualized payout of $3.00.

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich acquired a new position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,026 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESLT. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 27.7% in the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 378,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $168,600,000 after purchasing an additional 82,103 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $25,929,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 61.2% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 117,083 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,922,000 after purchasing an additional 44,459 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 61.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,779 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $38,533,000 after purchasing an additional 38,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 33.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 135,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $51,837,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ESLT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Elbit Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Elbit Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $520.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Elbit Systems from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elbit Systems presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $530.00.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESLT opened at $502.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.23. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1-year low of $204.25 and a 1-year high of $529.99. The firm has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.66. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 14th. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.70%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.