Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Lewis Asset Management LLC

Lewis Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third 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 during the period. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $811.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $770.47 billion, a PE ratio of 87.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $637.00 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $783.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.