Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price traded down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $771.00 and last traded at $771.96. 444,906 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,209,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $783.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, 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 objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $806.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $867.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $736.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $34,328,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.8% in the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,517,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 173.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 21,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,477,000 after buying an additional 13,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 132.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 40,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,486,000 after acquiring an additional 22,840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.