AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 2,845 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,845 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $58,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,772,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $776.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $848.19. The stock has a market cap of $767.20 billion, a PE ratio of 87.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $637.00 and a one 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.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced 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 return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. 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%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.