ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of LLY traded down $18.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $763.78. 3,929,677 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,556,892. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $609.59 and a 12 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 fifty day moving average price is $793.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $863.35. The company has a market capitalization of $725.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 0.79%. 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 64.86%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

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.