Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,650 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 0.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $51,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 436.6% during the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $15,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LLY. Truist Financial raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $881.83 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $836.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $803.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $847.92.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

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

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.