Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 6,368 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 359,876 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,368 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $277,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after buying an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth $1,240,653,000. Essential Planning LLC. lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6,406.9% in the 4th quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 716,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,544,000 after purchasing an additional 705,076 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased 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 valued at $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,991,000 after buying an additional 678,209 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $822.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $829.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $845.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.64 billion, a PE ratio of 70.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.