Copeland Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,277 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,964,000 after acquiring an additional 176,552 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 160,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,368,000 after acquiring an additional 8,566 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Finally, WealthBridge Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $811.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $770.35 billion, a PE ratio of 87.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $783.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $843.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $682.53 and a 52-week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. StockNews.com downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

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.