KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

KBC Group NV increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 589,009 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,174 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.3% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $454,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,737,000 after acquiring an additional 584,866 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 599.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 430,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,710,000 after purchasing an additional 369,293 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $804.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $637.00 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $778.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $847.30. The firm has a market cap of $764.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and 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.