Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares rose 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $880.32 and last traded at $873.36. Approximately 863,579 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,692,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $867.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $801.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $846.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.65, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after purchasing an additional 475,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.