NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Trims Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.7% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $12,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Lipe & Dalton purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at $40,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 54,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.07, for a total transaction of $34,854,422.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,488,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,177,109,911.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY traded up $8.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $733.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,385,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,012,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.94. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $380.77 and a 52-week high of $800.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $762.75 and a 200 day moving average of $664.94. The stock has a market cap of $697.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 51.22% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $680.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $805.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. DZ Bank downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $728.05.

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.