BDF Gestion Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

BDF Gestion lowered its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,472 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.9% of BDF Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $20,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value 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. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $811.61 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $770.48 billion, a PE ratio of 87.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $782.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $845.82.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LLY. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.