Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Purchases Shares of 38,747 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,328,000. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.7% of Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $398,000. Royal Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 763.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,925,000 after acquiring an additional 2,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $782.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $742.70 billion, a PE ratio of 84.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $835.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $870.78. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $561.65 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.