Foster & Motley Inc. Boosts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 60.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,556 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 1.4 %

LLY stock opened at $811.61 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $637.00 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 firm has a market cap of $770.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.74, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $782.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $845.82.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.