ZEGA Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,115,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $1,449,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 18.8% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 30,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $839.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $835.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $839.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

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.