Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Lowers Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,111 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $26,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,964,000 after acquiring an additional 176,552 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $345,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 1,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 75,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,524,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $870.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $786.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $843.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $826.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $707.02 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.