Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Bought by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 255,495 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,260 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 2.2% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $197,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after purchasing an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after purchasing an additional 631,312 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,737,000 after purchasing an additional 584,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 2.2 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $741.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $614.82 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $779.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $852.83. The company has a market capitalization of $704.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.