Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $788.50 and last traded at $790.11. 841,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 3,195,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $799.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,106.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $839.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $871.92. The firm has a market cap of $758.35 billion, a PE ratio of 85.42, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% in 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 last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,708,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,100,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 13.4% during the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the second quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,333,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.