KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 288,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,045,000. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 1.1% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $839.44 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $835.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $839.87. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $795.93 billion, a PE ratio of 71.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LLY. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research 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.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.