West Financial Advisors LLC Sells 19 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

West Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 46 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $36,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after buying an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after buying an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after acquiring an additional 169,391 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,832,000 after acquiring an additional 22,392 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $758.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $612.70 and a one year high of $972.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $784.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $856.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.