Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Invests $476,000 in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth about $15,036,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth $546,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.8% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 68,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,581,000 after purchasing an additional 3,713 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.7% in the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $726.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a PE ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $781.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $854.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. 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 (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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company 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.