Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 66.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,531 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,329,000. Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,196,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE LLY opened at $874.12 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $801.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $847.66. The stock has a market cap of $828.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,000.28.

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.