Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,123 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 1.1% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $37,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,042,276,000 after purchasing an additional 178,007 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after buying an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,168,000 after buying an additional 12,044 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $920.44 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $872.73 billion, a PE ratio of 78.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $814.88 and its 200 day moving average is $849.10.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

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.