Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Bought by Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 911 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 1,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% during the third quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $803.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $779.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $846.28. The company has a market cap of $762.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.81, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $637.00 and a one year high of $972.53.

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). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.