Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,757 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $726.24 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $612.70 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $781.14 and a 200 day moving average of $854.35.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 64.86%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.