Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stake Raised by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LLY. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY traded down $6.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $775.54. 788,880 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,468,521. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $793.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $863.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $609.59 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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.