Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after acquiring an additional 291,875 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,042,276,000 after purchasing an additional 178,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on 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. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $737.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $699.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $848.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $831.93. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and 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.