Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 1,778 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,778 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 357.0% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 11,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $698,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 6,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 24.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,966,000 after purchasing an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock traded up $28.67 on Tuesday, hitting $783.67. 996,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,192,900. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $561.65 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $743.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.62, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $861.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $870.20.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $875.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.94.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.