Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 248,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,435,000. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.1% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after purchasing an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,389,651,000 after buying an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,747,214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,042,276,000 after acquiring an additional 178,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $737.56 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $848.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $832.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $699.33 billion, a PE ratio of 62.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally 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.