Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) fell 0.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $772.55 and last traded at $777.00. 853,460 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 1,468,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $781.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LLY. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $793.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $863.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $726.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.