New Century Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

New Century Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 0.9% of New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 1,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $784.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $745.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.84, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $776.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $849.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $624.68 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.

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). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

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.