Albion Financial Group UT Boosts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,153 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted 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, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related 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 value of $723,042.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $766.00 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $624.68 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.81, a PEG ratio of 1.56 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $776.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $850.93.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

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 repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.