Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.50

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 9th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.50 per share on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. 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.

Eli Lilly and Company has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Eli Lilly and Company has a payout ratio of 20.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eli Lilly and Company to earn $31.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.3%.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $865.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $821.28 billion, a PE ratio of 73.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. 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 $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $791.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $843.52.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

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.