Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Birinyi Associates Inc.

Birinyi Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 78.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,953 shares during the quarter. Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after acquiring an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,544,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,320,000 after purchasing an additional 204,243 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 2.4 %

LLY stock opened at $902.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $805.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $847.99. The company has a market capitalization of $855.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

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.