Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Sells 300 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lowered its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 3.1% of Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. First National Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 34,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 20,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 303.7% during the fourth quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,718,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LLY. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $798.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $830.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $844.96. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $757.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. 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 (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. Analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire 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.