Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Position Cut by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 275,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.1% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $212,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,042,276,000 after purchasing an additional 178,007 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of LLY opened at $930.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $817.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $848.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $882.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its 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 85.24%. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.