Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,287 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 0.6% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $746.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $708.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $612.70 and a one year high of $972.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $784.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $857.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

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.