Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $18,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,745,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,592,709,000 after buying an additional 1,133,810 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,031,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,248,210,000 after acquiring an additional 453,939 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,972,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,424,243,000 after acquiring an additional 335,560 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.2% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,848,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,994,280,000 after purchasing an additional 648,094 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY traded down $8.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $802.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 219,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,102,048. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $561.65 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $762.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $888.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $870.29.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on 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. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,008.41.

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.