WESPAC Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

WESPAC Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 68.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,685 shares during the quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Barclays dropped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $874.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $828.82 billion, a PE ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $801.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $847.13. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. 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 presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and 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.