Wall Street Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,766 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Wall Street Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 49.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,766 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 2.1% of Wall Street Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Wall Street Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,990,000 after purchasing an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% during the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,825,000 after purchasing an additional 631,312 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,737,000 after purchasing an additional 584,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE LLY opened at $753.65 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $715.46 billion, a PE ratio of 81.48, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $777.46 and its 200 day moving average is $851.61. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $614.82 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company 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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.