Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC Sells 2,747 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 67.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,747 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 0.7% of Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after buying an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after buying an additional 12,044 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $784.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $745.01 billion, a PE ratio of 84.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $624.68 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $776.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $849.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign 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.