Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,832,000 after buying an additional 22,392 shares during 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 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LLY. Barclays reduced their target price 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.5 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $753.65 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $614.82 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.48, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $777.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $851.61.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

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.