Howard Financial Services LTD. Has $488,000 Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 632 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 696,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,441,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,209,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,239,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. InTrack Investment Management Inc boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 4,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $726.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a PE ratio of 78.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. 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 52-week low of $612.70 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $781.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $854.35.

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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on 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, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company 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.