Asset Advisors Corp continued to hold its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,500 shares of the company’s stock at the end of the fourth quarter. Asset Advisors Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LLY. Country Club Trust Company n.a. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Country Club Trust Company n.a. now owns 4,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 8,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 8,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the period.

Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) traded down 1.52% during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.90. 1,082,284 shares of the stock traded hands. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.18 and a 200-day moving average of $83.20. Eli Lilly and Co has a 1-year low of $68.31 and a 1-year high of $92.85. The stock has a market cap of $82.96 billion and a PE ratio of 34.47.

Eli Lilly and (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 28th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.78. The company had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Co will post $3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 10th.

LLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Swann restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Vetr lowered shares of Eli Lilly and from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.69 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research report on Monday, December 21st. Piper Jaffray restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and from $103.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $99.13.

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.09, for a total transaction of $17,868,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 128,280,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,915,413,612.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Enrique A. Conterno sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.88, for a total transaction of $2,097,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 88,131 shares in the company, valued at $7,392,428.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is engaged in drug manufacturing business. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and market products in two segments: human pharmaceutical products and animal health products. The Company’s products are sold in approximately 120 countries. The Company’s human pharmaceutical business segment sells medicines, which are discovered or developed by its scientists. Its animal health business segment operates through the Company’s Elanco division, which develops, manufactures and markets products for both food animals and companion animals. The Company manufactures and distributes its products through facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico and 11 other countries. Its products include endocrinology products, neuroscience products, oncology products, cardiovascular products, products for food animals, products for companion animals and Novartis AH products.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:LLY

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