Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Acquires 236 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,367 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,154,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,014,000 after purchasing an additional 138,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $899,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $786.57. The stock had a trading volume of 872,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,594,122. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.03, a PEG ratio of 2.99 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $786.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $860.65. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’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 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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.