Vista Investment Partners II LLC Invests $8.85 Million in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,848,000. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 5.2% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 49,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 8,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,240,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 13,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,574,000 after buying an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $868.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $823.57 billion, a PE ratio of 74.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $826.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $847.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.50.

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.