Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 44 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $766.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $727.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.81, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $624.68 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $776.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $850.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

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.