WASHINGTON TRUST Co Cuts Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $14,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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. Barclays decreased their price objective 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $844.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $794.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $844.60. The company has a market cap of $802.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 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.