Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 4.5% of Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $726.24 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $612.70 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $783.25 and its 200-day moving average is $856.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LLY. Citigroup upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

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.