RNC Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

RNC Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position 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 worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price 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. 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 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $878.09 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $833.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $788.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $843.47.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. 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 is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.