Stiles Financial Services Inc Lowers Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stiles Financial Services Inc reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LJI Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,505,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 9,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washburn Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $868.57 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $789.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $843.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $824.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and 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.