New England Research & Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

New England Research & Management Inc. decreased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 160,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,368,000 after purchasing an additional 8,566 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 303.7% during the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 24.1% in the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,382,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $811.61 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $637.00 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $782.29 and its 200 day moving average is $845.82. The company has a market cap of $770.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.22.

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.