Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Position Increased by Echo45 Advisors LLC

Echo45 Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 624 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,036,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $437,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $534,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3,705.6% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 57,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,028,000 after acquiring an additional 55,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 345.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 25,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,122,000 after acquiring an additional 19,804 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $784.78 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $624.68 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $775.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $850.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.01 billion, a PE ratio of 84.84, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. 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 currently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.