Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Reduces Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC decreased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $823.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $780.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $845.98. The company has a market cap of $781.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

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 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LLY shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.