ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes $239,000 Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY traded down $18.20 on Monday, hitting $763.78. 3,929,677 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,556,892. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $793.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $863.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $609.59 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $725.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change 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 0.79%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 report 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, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.