American Century Companies Inc. Has $1.78 Billion Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,304,938 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,195 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.0% of American Century Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $1,779,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $514,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $834,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $839.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $795.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.69, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $835.99 and a 200 day moving average of $839.87.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.