Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 16 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,645 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 1.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 45.2% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $881,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LLY. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $822.14 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $842.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $837.43. The company has a market cap of $779.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.21, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and 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.