Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shot up 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $812.51 and last traded at $809.16. 519,735 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,808,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $804.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LLY. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.4 %

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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $783.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.86. The stock has a market cap of $770.47 billion, a PE ratio of 87.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.