Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Reduces Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. trimmed its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 712,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,172 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 8.9% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $645,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 188.2% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 49 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $961.76.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $960.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $894.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $823.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $516.57 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $912.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.39, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.83 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 67.52%. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 16.51 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 76.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 20,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $836.32, for a total value of $17,046,710.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 98,188,427 shares in the company, valued at $82,116,945,268.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 897,283 shares of company stock worth $805,651,743. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.