Acropolis Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,765 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Barclays lowered their price objective 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $746.42 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $784.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $857.48. The company has a market cap of $708.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

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

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.