Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 0.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $754.60 and last traded at $750.25. 2,017,980 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 3,852,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $744.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LLY. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $707.79 billion, a PE ratio of 80.60, a PEG ratio of 2.99 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $784.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $857.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. One Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,403,000 after purchasing an additional 936,033 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $812,000. Excalibur Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,906,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.