ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,113 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,036,000. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 146.3% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 2,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 14.3% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.7% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 14,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 1,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $758.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $784.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $856.70. The firm has a market cap of $720.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $612.70 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

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.