Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Invests $313,000 in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,991,000 after acquiring an additional 678,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,737,000 after acquiring an additional 584,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $844.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $802.01 billion, a PE ratio of 72.15, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $794.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $844.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 44.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LLY. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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 report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

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.