Geneva Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Geneva Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 2.7% of Geneva Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $6,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY opened at $878.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $788.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $843.47. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $833.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued 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 return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

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

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.