Aspire Private Capital LLC Boosts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,140 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position 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 worth $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.6 %

LLY opened at $766.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $776.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $850.93. 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 company has a market cap of $727.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.81, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $624.68 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 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. Four research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.