Tran Capital Management L.P. Sells 1,608 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Tran Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 58.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,608 shares during the quarter. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $767.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $776.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $848.19.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.