Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.2% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in 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 worth $5,417,970,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after acquiring an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after acquiring an additional 12,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,544,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,320,000 after acquiring an additional 204,243 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $881.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $836.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.31, a PEG 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $803.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $847.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results 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 85.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company 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.