Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Lowers Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lessened its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 0.9% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $811.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. 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 $770.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.74, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $782.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $845.82.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. 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 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on LLY shares. StockNews.com downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.