Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stake Lifted by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 547,438 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 24.5% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $422,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased 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 research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.4 %

LLY opened at $784.78 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $776.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $848.83. 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 12 month low of $624.68 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $745.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.84, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. 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. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

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.