BLB&B Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

BLB&B Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after buying an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after acquiring an additional 12,044 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $878.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $833.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $789.87 and its 200 day moving average is $843.55.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 44.41%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.