Strategic Financial Services Inc. Sells 43 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMZ Advisory Inc lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. IMZ Advisory Inc now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $837.34 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $793.94 billion, a PE ratio of 71.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $834.04 and a 200 day moving average of $840.69.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.