Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Position in Eli Lilly and Company (LLY)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 43.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Windward LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 2.0% in the first quarter. Alpha Windward LLC now owns 2,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 6.7% in the first quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 14,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. First Command Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Command Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and during the first quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.59% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE LLY) traded down 0.45% on Friday, hitting $77.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,549,763 shares. The firm has a market cap of $81.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.88. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $64.18 and a 52-week high of $86.72.

Eli Lilly and (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.60 billion. Eli Lilly and had a return on equity of 28.71% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post $4.16 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Eli Lilly and’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.04%.

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $71.00 price target on Eli Lilly and and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Argus lowered Eli Lilly and from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $64.18 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research note on Saturday, April 29th. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research note on Sunday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.27.

In related news, insider Melissa S. Barnes sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.78, for a total value of $153,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,231.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Harrington sold 22,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total value of $1,825,955.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 62,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,618.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 669,733 shares of company stock valued at $55,845,287. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is engaged in drug manufacturing business. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and markets products in two segments: human pharmaceutical products and animal health products. The Company’s human pharmaceutical business segment sells medicines, which are discovered or developed by its scientists.

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