Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Position Cut by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,043,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 33,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,684,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 8,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,383,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LLY shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $726.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $781.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $854.71. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

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

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.