Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,823 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of LLY opened at $786.15 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $746.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $612.70 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $787.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $861.17.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.