Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 1.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price rose 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $786.70 and last traded at $786.06. Approximately 960,078 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 2,422,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $773.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $758.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.42, a P/E/G 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 fifty day simple moving average of $786.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $860.02.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

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 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 yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 138,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $899,000. 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.