Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $781.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $796.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $864.45. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $609.59 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

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

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 22,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,505,000 after purchasing an additional 5,908 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.4% in the second quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,506,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.5% during the second quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.