DF Dent & Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $443,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $11,657,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,280,000 after acquiring an additional 13,202 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $788.62 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $849.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $833.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reissued 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. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

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.