Kera Capital Partners Inc. Acquires New Shares in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 4.1 %

NYSE LLY opened at $726.24 on Monday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $612.70 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a PE ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $781.14 and its 200 day moving average is $854.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. 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%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

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.