Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 429 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $11,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LLY shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $746.42 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $784.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $857.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $708.59 billion, a PE ratio of 80.69, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $612.70 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

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 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. 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.