Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 1,427 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,527 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.0% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $24,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at $262,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,916,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,896,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $351,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $9,878,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 17,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $902.38, for a total transaction of $15,547,105.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,556,910 shares in the company, valued at $88,033,404,445.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 451,900 shares of company stock valued at $418,732,178 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $906.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $861.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.46, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $896.70 and a 200 day moving average of $835.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $516.57 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.28. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 67.52%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 16.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 76.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,106.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $875.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $913.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $977.35.

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.