Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 17,037 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 260,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,037 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.1% of Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $231,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $788.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $854.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $869.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $748.24 billion, a PE ratio of 85.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.