Advisory Alpha LLC Increases Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,751 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in 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 worth $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 169,391 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,741,832,000 after purchasing an additional 22,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $766.00 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $624.68 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $727.18 billion, a PE ratio of 82.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $776.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $850.93.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. Truist Financial raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

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.