Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 2,000 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 0.6% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $32,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of 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. Four 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $872.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $828.74 billion, a PE ratio of 74.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $792.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $843.94.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced 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 86.26%. Equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.41%.

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

Eli Lilly and Company 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.