Grimes & Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,152 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $637.00 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $767.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $776.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $848.19.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 0.74%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.