Naples Global Advisors LLC Sells 196 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Naples Global Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 0.9% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 273,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,172,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 494.9% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Davidson Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,800,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research started 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 for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $872.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $793.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $844.15. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $711.40 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $828.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.54, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 44.41%.

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.