Annex Advisory Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Annex Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth about $15,036,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth about $546,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,542,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.6% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $726.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $612.70 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $781.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $854.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

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.