Nelson Capital Management LLC Buys 3,296 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1,011.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,553,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,906 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,112,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of LLY opened at $902.47 on Wednesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $855.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $805.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $847.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 51.24%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,000.28.

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.