Essex Savings Bank Sells 274 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Essex Savings Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 2.1% of Essex Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third 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. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third 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 last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Wolfe Research started 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 target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $758.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. 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 1 year low of $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $784.03 and a 200-day moving average of $856.70.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.79%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.