Stonegate Investment Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 716 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $43,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 2.4 %

LLY stock opened at $823.59 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $637.00 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $781.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $780.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $845.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup cut 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.