First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $10.42 Million Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,494 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 337 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 1,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% during the third quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $776.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $848.19. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $637.00 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $767.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released 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). 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 analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date 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’s payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

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.