Mendota Financial Group LLC Sells 44 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Mendota Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $76,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third 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 period. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Barclays lowered 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $742.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $784.63 and its 200 day moving average is $857.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $612.70 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $705.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued 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 return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase 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 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.