Baring Financial LLC Buys Shares of 270 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Baring Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 5,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. now owns 381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $811.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.48 billion, a PE ratio of 87.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $637.00 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $782.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $845.82. 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 (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.