Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,021 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,047 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,021 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $203,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company's stock worth $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company's stock worth $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,304,811,000 after buying an additional 1,493,673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,002.80.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 5.5 %

LLY traded down $45.20 on Tuesday, hitting $776.26. The company had a trading volume of 5,961,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,485,577. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $823.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $814.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $677.09 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $735.69 billion, a PE ratio of 66.29, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. Eli Lilly and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.