Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,944 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,959 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $58,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FWG Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LLY. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $820.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $844.31 and a 200-day moving average of $835.77. The company has a market capitalization of $777.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.05, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued 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%. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.