Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price was up 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $862.73 and last traded at $856.97. Approximately 1,025,017 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 3,695,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $844.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $813.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.22, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $795.28 and a 200 day moving average of $845.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,407,908,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.