Brokerages Set Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) PT at $1,009.72

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,009.72.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $837.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $834.04 and a 200 day moving average of $840.69. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $711.40 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $793.94 billion, a PE ratio of 71.51, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after acquiring an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012,129 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,304,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.