JGP Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,798 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth $15,036,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 357 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $546,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 229,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,233,000 after purchasing an additional 10,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,409,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 4.1 %

NYSE LLY opened at $726.24 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $612.70 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $783.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $856.02.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. 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 currently 56.22%.

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.