Stratos Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,014 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of LLY opened at $870.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $826.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $707.02 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $786.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $843.28. 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 (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

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.