Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $13,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 1,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CMH Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,709,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $753.65 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $777.46 and a 200-day moving average of $851.61. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $614.82 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.48, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial increased 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 note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.