Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,187 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,296,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,045,000. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,304,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,779,412,000 after purchasing an additional 41,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 12,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,716,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value 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 approximately $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.4 %

LLY stock opened at $839.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $835.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $839.05. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $795.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.69, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.