Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Decreases Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 3.9% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of LLY opened at $930.12 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $822.55 and a 200 day moving average of $848.61.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 0.65%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.24%.

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