AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 75,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,845 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $58,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY stock opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $767.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $776.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $848.19.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.