Simplify Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,453 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Simplify Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,453 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 0.1% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,680,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,038 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,005,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,827,714,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,447,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,246,596,000 after purchasing an additional 226,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,443,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,496,187,000 after purchasing an additional 397,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,163.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $1,200.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,155.36.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $1,079.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.55. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $623.78 and a 52-week high of $1,111.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 52.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $997.74 and its 200-day moving average is $845.33.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $17.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 109.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.