Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 429 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 1.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $11,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $746.42 on Thursday. 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 of $784.63 and a 200-day moving average of $857.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $612.70 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $708.59 billion, a PE ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 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 (DPR) is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and 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.