Whipplewood Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 352 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $629,000. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $915.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $808.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $848.46. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $868.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

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.