Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,291,458 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,913 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $997,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,548,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $389,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,603,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $844.82 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $802.01 billion, a PE ratio of 72.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $794.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $845.27.

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 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 expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.41%.

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.