Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases 574 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,618 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $32,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FWG Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $820.30 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $777.78 billion, a PE ratio of 70.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $844.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $836.82.

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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.