Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Cacti Asset Management LLC

Cacti Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during 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 buying an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,403,000 after buying an additional 936,033 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after acquiring an additional 631,312 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded up $10.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $782.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 672,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,211,798. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $598.80 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $798.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $865.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $743.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

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.