D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,187 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $32,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 193,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,371,000 after buying an additional 54,212 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 366,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,159,000 after buying an additional 7,112 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 15,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,019,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 214,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,487,000 after buying an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $857.38 on Wednesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $796.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $845.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $813.93 billion, a PE ratio of 73.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Wolfe Research assumed 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 lowered their price objective 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, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.50.

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.