Argent Trust Co Buys 479 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,535 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 0.8% of Argent Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $18,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,017.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 3.8 %

LLY stock traded down $28.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $724.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,353,229. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $677.09 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $687.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.75, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $840.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $826.23.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

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.