Summit Financial Strategies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Summit Financial Strategies Inc. reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 62,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,765,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

LLY stock opened at $803.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $637.00 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $779.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $846.28. The company has a market capitalization of $762.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.81, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LLY. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

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.