Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,151 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 0.8% of Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,992,890,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 61,268.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,342,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,802,530,000 after purchasing an additional 7,330,815 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth $682,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,575,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,908,273,000 after purchasing an additional 659,838 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $345,781,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total value of $74,902,905.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total value of $614,602.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,130 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,821.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total transaction of $74,902,905.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 98,556,247 shares in the company, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 789,704 shares of company stock worth $672,385,964. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $905.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $860.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.34, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $814.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $740.86. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $434.34 and a 1 year high of $915.54.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 56.98% and a net margin of 17.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.76 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LLY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $900.00 to $1,001.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $770.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective (up previously from $892.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.72.

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.