Stablepoint Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stablepoint Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. 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 third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $804.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $764.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.01, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $778.30 and a 200 day moving average of $847.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $637.00 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. 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. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on 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 $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.