Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shot up 1.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $792.56 and last traded at $786.15. 3,476,307 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 2,956,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $773.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. 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, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $787.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $861.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.99, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,154,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,014,000 after acquiring an additional 138,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $899,000. 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.