Nvest Financial LLC Grows Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Nvest Financial LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 49.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,286 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the quarter. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after buying an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after acquiring an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,168,000 after acquiring an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LLY. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $823.59 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $637.00 and a one year high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $781.85 billion, a PE ratio of 89.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $780.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $845.98.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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 a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.