E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Invests $105,000 in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 22,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Management Inc. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed 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 target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $804.87 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $778.30 and its 200-day moving average is $847.30. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $764.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.