Strategic Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,779 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 146 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares during the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 39.9% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 3,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% in the third quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.1% in the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $844.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $794.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $845.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.01 billion, a PE ratio of 72.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change 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 is presently 44.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

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.