ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 36 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $4,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 1,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,709,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 5,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,075,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $753.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $614.82 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $777.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $851.61. The company has a market capitalization of $715.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.