Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $790.50 and last traded at $790.63. 574,200 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,196,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $796.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on 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. Wolfe Research began 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 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $1,106.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $833.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $870.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $749.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 45.5% during the second quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company 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.