Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 45,073 Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 984,861 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,073 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $501,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Elbit Systems during the third quarter worth $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Elbit Systems during the second quarter worth $31,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the third quarter valued at $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Elbit Systems in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESLT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.33.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ESLT opened at $755.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $670.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $550.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $299.00 and a 1 year high of $775.99. The firm has a market cap of $33.58 billion, a PE ratio of 76.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.22.

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.