Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,367 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 9,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,424,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $8,797,000. Finally, Private Client Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY traded down $0.65 on Friday, hitting $786.57. 872,609 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,594,122. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $786.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $860.65. The firm has a market cap of $746.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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 fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 64.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.