New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,127,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,734 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.2% of New York State Common Retirement Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $870,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 35,110 shares of the company's stock worth $27,105,000 after buying an additional 11,754 shares during the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 184.2% in the fourth quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,626 shares of the company's stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the company's stock worth $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:LLY traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $874.12. The company had a trading volume of 3,937,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,765,032. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $829.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $799.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $846.07. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. On average, equities 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 share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $997.50.

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.