JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Lowers Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd cut its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 987 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company's stock worth $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company's stock worth $8,304,811,000 after buying an additional 1,493,673 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,002.80.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY traded down $20.48 on Wednesday, hitting $725.59. 2,097,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,546,033. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $804.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $808.91. The stock has a market cap of $687.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $677.09 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

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.