Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $772.99 and last traded at $781.50. 907,045 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,195,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $782.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,106.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $833.49 and its 200-day moving average is $871.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $749.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.31, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth $205,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 14.0% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 314,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,670,000 after purchasing an additional 38,597 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.4% during the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 22,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 9.4% during the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% 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.