Wealthgarden F.S. LLC Cuts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Wealthgarden F.S. LLC cut its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 90.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,911 shares during the period. Wealthgarden F.S. LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd 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. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,544,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,320,000 after buying an additional 204,243 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $874.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $801.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $847.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.82 billion, a PE ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $711.40 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

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.