Symphony Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Symphony Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,042,276,000 after purchasing an additional 178,007 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,035,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,887,085,000 after acquiring an additional 199,864 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $910.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $863.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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 has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $819.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $848.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.