Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 55,767 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,290 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,767 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $62,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,324,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,979,760,000 after acquiring an additional 314,349 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 533,336.4% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 19,059,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,938,609,000 after acquiring an additional 19,056,108 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.1% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,867,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,094,159,000 after acquiring an additional 159,964 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,059,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,411,740,000 after buying an additional 3,691,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $3,416,206,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 target price (up previously from $612.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $557.00.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $591.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $561.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $577.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $508.67. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $309.20 and a 1 year high of $629.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 81.88%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total transaction of $382,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,688,738.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 215,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.44, for a total transaction of $130,169,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,768,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,404,028,326.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total transaction of $382,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,708 shares in the company, valued at $2,688,738.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 536,138 shares of company stock valued at $20,881,627,358 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It 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; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.