CCM Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,579 shares during the quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,403,000 after purchasing an additional 936,033 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in 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. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after buying an additional 631,312 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $786.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,191,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,632. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $612.70 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $746.98 billion, a PE ratio of 85.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $786.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $860.65.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.