Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by CWS Financial Advisors LLC

CWS Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 483 shares during the quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after buying an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after buying an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,544,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,320,000 after buying an additional 204,243 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE LLY opened at $881.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $836.12 billion, a PE ratio of 75.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $803.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $847.92.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change 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 0.68%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,000.28.

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.