Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 60 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 24,879 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LLY. Truist Financial upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $753.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.46 billion, a PE ratio of 81.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $777.46 and its 200 day moving average is $851.61. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $614.82 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.