Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 0.7% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $754.60 and last traded at $750.25. 2,017,980 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 3,852,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $744.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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 objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $707.79 billion, a PE ratio of 80.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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’s 50 day moving average is $784.63 and its 200-day moving average is $857.48.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after buying an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,403,000 after buying an additional 936,033 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,825,000 after buying an additional 631,312 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.