Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $3.29 Million Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 328.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,266 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. 1776 Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 128,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,241,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 336,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,474,000 after purchasing an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 240,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,375,000 after purchasing an additional 33,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,587,000 after purchasing an additional 4,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $822.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $779.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $829.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $845.29.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and 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.