Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Holdings Raised by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,199 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.7% of First Merchants Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $43,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $834,000. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of LLY stock opened at $844.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $794.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $844.34. The stock has a market cap of $802.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.41%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.