ACT Advisors LLC. Boosts Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ACT Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 318 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. ACT Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded down $11.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $787.93. 931,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,795,395. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $786.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $859.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $612.70 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.99 billion, a PE ratio of 85.18, 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase 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 0.76%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.