Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Sells 870 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 870 shares during the quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Values Added Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $364,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 16,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,475,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $920.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $872.73 billion, a PE ratio of 78.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $814.88 and a 200-day moving average of $848.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.