Acropolis Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,765 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America reissued 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.2 %

LLY opened at $746.42 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $612.70 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $784.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $857.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $708.59 billion, a PE ratio of 80.69, 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 results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS 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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last 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, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s 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.