Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $578,000 Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 748 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 20,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,272,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,718,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 694,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 26,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 229,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,597,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $746.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $708.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $784.63 and a 200 day moving average of $857.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $612.70 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Barclays cut 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and 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.