Herbst Group LLC Sells 4,163 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Herbst Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 54.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,163 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.7% of Herbst Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Herbst Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 157,741 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,741,832,000 after buying an additional 22,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $726.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $781.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $854.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding 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 shares are undervalued.

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.