Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. decreased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,778 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.8 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded up $28.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $783.67. 996,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,192,900. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $861.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $870.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $743.95 billion, a PE ratio of 81.62, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LLY. Barclays reduced their price target 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $1,106.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,007.94.

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.