Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $14.88 Million Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,381 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $14,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,202,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 805.6% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $463,000. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LLY. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $746.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $708.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $784.63 and a 200 day moving average of $857.48.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

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.