Financial Perspectives Inc Increases Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 417 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $514,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $834,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $866.69 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $797.80 and a 200 day moving average of $845.87. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.