Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Board Announces Stock Buyback Plan

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th, RTT News reports. The company plans 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 generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded down $23.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $802.94. 3,171,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,208,394. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $841.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $871.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $762.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost 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%.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.