Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Raises Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,048 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $726.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $781.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $854.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.