Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 692,303 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% during 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 during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 599.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 430,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,710,000 after buying an additional 369,293 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 257.1% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 437,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,690,000 after buying an additional 315,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $920.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $872.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $814.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $848.69.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. Research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.