Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,600 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 210,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.2% of Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $162,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $823.59 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $780.80 and a 200 day moving average of $845.98. The stock has a market cap of $781.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.