Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Draper Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2,849.5% during the 4th quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 22,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,374,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 9,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,275,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $912.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $865.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $824.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $849.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LLY. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,007.50.

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.