Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,100,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,306 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 1.4% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $849,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LLY. Truist Financial raised their price objective on 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. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Barclays decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $746.42 on Thursday. 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 $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $784.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $857.48. The stock has a market cap of $708.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.