Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 44 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,110,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197,038 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,653,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,991,000 after acquiring an additional 678,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 599.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 430,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,710,000 after acquiring an additional 369,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on LLY. Citigroup cut their price objective 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, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $912.73 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $824.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $849.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $865.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. 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 payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs 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.