Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,551 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,307 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted 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 research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $726.24 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $612.70 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $781.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $854.71.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 0.83%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

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.