Valued Retirements Inc. Buys Shares of 371 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Valued Retirements Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $20,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.8% in the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,517,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1,420.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 28,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,757,000 after buying an additional 26,578 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $802.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $841.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $871.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $762.25 billion, a PE ratio of 86.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The 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 business posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,007.94.

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.