First United Bank & Trust Cuts Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

First United Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $11,041,631,000 after buying an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% during the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after acquiring an additional 631,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% during 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 during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $753.65 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $777.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $715.46 billion, a PE ratio of 81.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LLY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. 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 on the stock. Barclays decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities 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 currently 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.